Before the Dawn
by KarleighAnn
Summary: When you wake up among the walking dead, what's the first thing you do? Save your own skin or rush home to find your mother and sister? Isabella Swan chooses her family in typical Bella fashion. But what will she find? And what happens when she decides to go in search of her cousin? Who will she meet along the way? Follow Bella through the harsh realities of the zombie apocalypse.
1. First Steps

Hey, guys! Some of you probably know me from my stories, _Destiny_ and _Because of You._ While working (with a sore hand), I also became sick. So, I had the past two days off. I was working on some chapters for my other stories when I came up with another story idea. _This one._ With the help of my friend, Bella Marie Whitlock, I think we'll be able to make this story come alive.

 ***** **WARNING** ***** This is rated M for Mature. There will be violent and graphic scenes as well as some scenes of sex. I do not advise anyone under 18 to read this. You choose to read this at your own risk. If anything about this story bothers you, I suggest putting it down.

 ***** **Disclaimer** ***** Twilight's character's belong to Stephenie Meyer. The story line belongs to Bella Marie Whitlock and I.

If you are still reading this, I applaud you. I have some more information for you. This story will mostly be in Bella's point of view. Every few chapters, there will be one written from a different character's point of view before switching back to Bella. Also, I'd like you to keep an eye out for "Meet the Characters" at the end of the chapters. It will come in handy!

With further adieu, I present you with Before the Dawn. Enjoy!

 **Chapter 1 - First Steps**

I groan as I start to regain consciousness, I find that I'm quite disoriented. I try getting up, however I can't move. There is something securing me in place. I try to open my eyes but there is a crustiness sealing them shut. I'm able to free my right hand and I scrub at my face. Blinking a few times, I realize that I'm upside down. Trying not to move myself too much, because I do not know the extent of my injuries, I look around slowly. I am able to determine that I'm in a vehicle and being held in place by the seat belt. There is broken glass scattered around me and dried blood smeared on my right hand. My left hand is tangled in the airbag. How it got like that confuses me. I'll need a knife or scissors to get free.

The ringing in my ears won't stop. What is it from? How do I stop it? I shake my head and try to ignore it. I can worry about the ringing later. Right now, I have to get out. I squint looking out of the broken window. It's dark out, that much is obvious. I can see multiple cars on their sides or upside down. A lot of them are on fire. In the distance, I can hear a car alarm blaring because something is against its steering wheel.

A shuffling sound catches my attention. I look for the source of the sound and see feet walking by an overturned truck that is on fire. "Help," I croak, barely audible. I try clearing my throat to call out again. I blink and swallow hard. Dear God, that hurts. I open my mouth to voice my plea when something else grabs my attention.

A person is crawling out of a beat up car. I realize it's a little girl coming out of a busted back window. She looks about six years old. The little girl has blood running down the side of her mouth and ash covering her clothes. "Mommy!" She cries, frantically looking around. The shuffling stops, so I peek over to where I last saw the feet. The person who belong to the feet is turning around and heading towards the little girl. _That must be her mother._ "Mommy! Where are you?" She cries out again. The person walks closer to the little girl. "Do you know where my mommy is?" The little girl attempts to ask as the person comes into view.

The person doesn't stop. He or she keeps walking up to the little girl. They don't even acknowledge her question. "What happened to your arm?" The blonde girl asks with wonder in her voice. The only response she receives is a groan. _Are they upset she asked the question?_ My eyebrows furrow. "Can you help me find my-" the girl starts but then abruptly begins to scream bloody murder.

Not knowing what is happening, I start to panic. I use my right hand to claw at the seat belt holding me into place. The seat belt clasp releases, which makes me fall onto the roof of my overturned truck. My hand is still stuck in the deflated air bag. The girl screams again, but it dies out into a gurgling sound. A soft thud causes me to look over. The little girl's lifeless body is sprawled out on the ground. I gasp at the sight. The fire from the cars are dancing off of her glassy eyes. A chunk of her arm is missing as well as her throat. It looks as if a bear ripped it out.

My eyes grow wide. I clamp my hand over my mouth to keep from screaming when I see the person throw itself onto the little girl. It starts pulling and ripping at her clothes before sinking it's bloody mouth onto the girl's stomach. The tearing of her flesh makes my skin crawl and I feel myself turning green. I swallow the bile rising up in my throat when the creature begins pulling at her intestines. I put more pressure on my mouth because I don't want to attract any attention to myself by making noise as I throw up.

When it is finished with the little girl, it stumbles to its feet and shuffles away groaning. I look back to the little girl's body with tears in my eyes. Seeing her like that makes me realize I can't stay here. That thing might come back at any minute. Propping myself up onto my knees, I begin tugging at the airbag with my free hand. After a few attempts, I try biting through it with my teeth. Finally getting my left hand free, I poke my head out of the broken windshield. Looking around, I deem it safe enough to get out. Standing up, I clutch my head as the ringing makes itself known again. Once standing, I can't believe my eyes!

Dozens of cars are scattered up and down the street. Bloody bodies litter the ground. I shakily cover my mouth and let out a soft cry. Upon seeing all of this, it triggers a memory as to why my ears are ringing.

" _Madeline," I whined, pulling my favorite blouse out of the washer. My once white blouse was now stained pink. A lone red sock sat at the bottom of the machine. I groaned. "Maddie, you can't do the wash by yourself You mixed the whites in with the colors! Now everything is_ pink!"

 _Maddie pulled the thumb out of her mouth. "Sowwie, sissy. I just wanna hewp. You awways do evweyfing." I rolled my eyes as I picked up my little sister and tossed her into the air. She squealed in delight as I caught her in my arms._

 _I brought her face to mine and nuzzled her nose. "Princess, I love that you want to help, but this is too much for a kid to do by herself. I'll tell you what, you can help me do it from now on, okay?" I asked her._

 _She nodded eagerly. "Uh huh! Uh Huh!_

" _Alright, let's get you something to eat before I have to leave for class. Mom should be home in a few." I held my sister close to me as I walked into the kitchen. "Here, you can help me by getting the milk and cheese out," I said as I put her on her feet._

 _Giggling in delight, she took off towards the fridge. I went to the pantry to grab out some elbow macaroni. When I came back, Maddie was standing in the middle of the kitchen holding onto the milk and cheese for dear life. The cheese started slipping out of her hands, so I grabbed it from her and placed it on the counter. She put the milk on the floor while she ran to get her step stool. I put the pasta into a pot of water and waited for it to boil._

 _When the noodles were finished, I drained the water and opened the milk. I poured the desired amount of milk into the pot. I opened the cheese and grabbed two hands full of cheddar cheese and threw it in the pot as well. Maddie had the big wooden spoon in her hand. "Ready to stir, chef Maddie?"_

" _Yeah, yeah, yeah!" She cheered happily._

 _I wanted to help her get to a better vantage point so, I picked her up and placed her on my hip. For a three year old, she was very light. She placed the spoon in the pot and began to stir. There were a few times where I had to help her stir, but she practically did it all by herself. My mother got home just as we finished dishing it out. I sat with Maddie at the table and ate while I looked through my phone._

 _My cousin Emmett posted on Facebook about being in Colorado. I was really jealous of him for that. I've always wanted to travel, but I was stuck in Seattle. My mother couldn't find it in herself to leave the state of Washington after my father passed away two years ago. We originally lived in Forks, Washington where my father was the police chief. After he was killed in the line of duty, my mother needed to get away. She did not want to get too far, because she also wanted to be close to father. When she moved us, we went to Seattle in the middle of my senior year. Maddie was only a year old, so she doesn't remember life in Forks or our father._

 _When she first turned three, she began to ask about him. When she asked we told her a little bit about him. We told her how strong and handsome he was. We told her how he died protecting people. She called him a hero and her knight in shining armor. Our mother cried at that. I gave Maddie a picture of him the other other week to keep in her room. Sometimes I'd find it under her pillow when I cleaned her room. Other times I would find it on top of her pillow as she drifted off to sleep when I tucked her in._

 _After mother moved us to Seattle, I decided I was not going to apply for college. I wanted to go into the police academy like my father, but mother forbid me from doing so. She brought out the waterworks, which of course had broken me in two. She cried about how she lost our father to the force and how she doesn't want to lose a daughter too. So, I stayed in Seattle. I applied to colleges all over Washington and got accepted into North Seattle College, where I was in the midst of my sophomore year. I chose to study law. As I thought about college, it made me realize I needed to be on my way or else I'd be late for class. I rushed to finish my food, so I could get to school on time._

 _As I headed to the door, the news made me stop. Usually, I didn't watch the news because it is mainly all about celebrities. But this story had a flashing red headline and a beeping sound to draw attention. Which was rare. They were showing a video on repeat. In the video, you could see a man attacking another man on the street. There was a lot of blood but no weapon. I furrowed my brows as I moved closer to the screen to try and catch what the reporter was saying. However, I didn't get very far as my mother turned it off. "Stupid people and their drugs. That's what LSD does to you. Go on, Bella. Get on out of here or you will be late for class. I don't work as hard as I do to pay for your tuition to have you skipping class!"_

 _Doing as she said, I left the house with only my wallet and a notebook. I didn't need much to go to class. I only had one tonight. I hopped into my Ford Explorer and backed out of my driveway. When I got to campus, there were people buzzing around and rushing to their cars. Confused, I walked up to the nearest fleeing group of people and stopped them. I asked what was going on._

" _Look, a woman attacked a man and started eating him!" The girl all but shoved her phone in my face. I watched in horror as the man's cheek was torn off by the woman._

" _People need to lay off the drugs!" I exclaimed. That's what my mother said it was. It was most likely that these people_ were _on drugs. What else would make a person act like such a psychopath?_

" _Didn't you hear? It's not drugs! It's zombies." A boy yelled in my face. "It's been happening all over the city the past two days! People have been dying and coming back to life. They've been attacking other people and turning them as well. There is talk that it's only in our city, so they want to bomb us now to wipe it out. Didn't you notice the people evacuating the city while you were driving? We just found out, that's why we're leaving campus!" The boy waved his hands around frantically._

 _I gasped and turned on my heels. I ran to my truck and sped out of the parking lot. I had to get home to my mother and Maddie. We had to get out of the city. I was halfway home when an enormous and loud crash startled me. Then right away another crash happened and I peeked into my rear view mirror. I watched in horror as explosion after explosion went off like dominoes. Bombs were being deployed all around me!_

 _An explosion a few miles ahead made jerk the wheel and lose control. In a split second, my car was rolling. My head snapped to the side and hit the windshield with a painful crack. That was the last thing I remembered before the blackness overtook me._

Seeing the damage from the bombs, roots me in place. I can't believe the government would do this to so many innocent people! By the looks of it, it seems as if their bombing didn't even work from what I experienced earlier. That little girl was _murdered_ by zombies. Fucking zombies! Does that mean the neighboring towns will all have zombies, too?

Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I look around. I'll need to find myself a weapon. From what I know about killing zombies, you have to go for the brain. Killing the brain means killing the zombie. Easy enough. _Right?_ Let's just hope they're as slow as they are portrayed in video games and movies. I also know I need to stay on the move. Staying in one place for too long can be horrendous. Especially if they start to form a herd. Then we'll be in huge trouble! Thank God for all of the zombie based video games I played on my Playstation 4. I never thought I would need to know how to survive the zombie apocalypse.

Looking at a nearby sign, I realize I am a few miles away from my house. I can do this. I just have to get to my mother and my little sister. We'll pack some stuff and head to a new town. Hopefully they won't have any zombies. Picking up a metal pole, I begin my hike home.

*****Meet the Characters*****

Name: Bella Swan

Age: 20

Likes: Reading and playing video games

Education: Sophomore in College

Relationship Status: Single

Current turn on: The strong, silent type

Current turn off: Stinky feet

Height: 5' 4" (and no, that doesn't make her vertically challenged)

Weight: 105 lbs

Size: 2

Currently: Alive and freaking the fuck out at the moment


	2. On Our Own

This chapter took a little bit to get out there because I got held up at work and my co-writer has been busy with her family. Now that we are done, we can finally present you with a new chapter.

*WARNING* This is rated M for Mature. There will be violent and graphic scenes as well as some scenes of sex. I do not advise anyone under 18 to read this. You choose to read this at your own risk. If anything about this story bothers you, I suggest putting it down.

*Disclaimer* Twilight's character's belong to Stephenie Meyer. The story line belongs to Bella Marie Whitlock and I.

 **Chapter 2 - On Our Own**

Walking a few miles may not seem like a hard thing to do. But it is, especially when it's pitch black out and there is only a street lamp that works every so often. It also doesn't help that every little sound makes me jump and look around frantically. I never know what it might be. It could be a zombie roaming the streets or the woods. Or just a hungry animal passing by. Either way, it makes me clutch the metal pole closer to my body.

The late night spring breeze makes me shiver. I pull my light jacket around me, hoping to warm myself up. It's only mid April, so Seattle is still pretty cold on spring nights. Usually it averages around forty-two degrees. But with the windchill, it feels like thirty-three. Sometimes you can even see your breath. That reminds me, I will definitely have to make sure we pack jackets. You never know what the weather might be like in other cities or states.

I left my truck while the sun was setting. Now it's beginning to rise already as I arrive on my street. Since yesterday, this neighborhood has turned to shit. It is very chaotic when I arrive. Trash cans are thrown all over the place and cars are missing from the driveways. There are doors and garages left wide open and even clothes littering the street! People were obviously trying to get out of here in a hurry. Some people who haven't left yet, probably because they want to wait out the traffic, are now rushing past, piling into their cars and leaving.

My heart drops as I walk up to my house. The front door is hanging wide open, but my mother's car is still here. Did she and Maddie hitch a ride with one of our neighbors? Does she think I am dead? Hesitantly, I walk up the porch steps and into the house. I stop short when I see my mother's limp form laying lifeless in a pool of her own blood. She is splayed out at the bottom of the stairs, facing away from the front door. It looks like she tried to run.

I fall to my knees with a strangled sob. I can't see any bit marks. Only a different type of wound. A purposely inflicted wound. A blow to the head that clearly knocked her off her feet! Blood, which had poured from the back of her head, was now beginning to dry up. That means this happened to her a few hours ago. Anger runs through me. What greedy bastards did this? Why would anyone need to kill a woman and a child? Who dared to take my family from me? Were people already raiding the houses?

Oh, _Mother_! If only I had gotten here sooner! Maybe I could have somehow prevented this. Maybe I could have saved them. Maybe this wouldn't have happened. If only I had found another vehicle and tried to drive here, or somehow avoided the bombings in the first place. If only she had not answered the door or if she had hidden, the intruders may have never seen them! I don't think I can even bring myself to look for Maddie's body. Mother is one thing, but Maddie? A shiver of disgust and anguish almost brings me to my knees again imagining all the things that could have happened to my sister.

As if in answer, I hear a quiet sobbing. The sound makes my head snap up. I scramble to my feet and run to the source of the sound. It's coming from the kitchen! As I swing open the kitchen door, the sound abruptly stops. I look around but I don't see anything. My eyes, however, zero in on the kitchen sink. Under the sink are the cabinets. Cabinets that my little sister likes to hide in. Slowly moving forward, I reach for the handle.

When I open it all the way, I am met with a heart breaking scene. My little sister is huddled in the furthest corner clutching her knees. Tears are running down her face mixing with snot. She is refusing to look at me as if she is scared that I'm going to hurt her. "Oh, Mads," I barely manage to choke out as I begin crying. My baby sister is alive!

Upon hearing my voice, Maddie launches herself at me. I catch her and hold her close. She sobs. "We wuz pwayin' hide n' seek an fere wuzza bang at da dowah an mommy fought it was you. She told me keep hidin an she be back. But fere wuz scweams an bangs. Mommy not come fine me," she said in between hiccups.

I tuck her head into my shoulder and shield her eyes as I run to lock the front door. Who ever killed my mother could always come back. Or others could come here, thinking this place is up for grabs. I use the deadbolt, hoping the lock will buy us time. We don't have a back door, but we do have a garage. So, I run to the garage and lock that door. I also begin going around the house and making sure all of our windows are locked and the curtains are closed.

I freeze when I think of my mother again. I can't just leave her there on the floor! Maybe when I can get Maddie to sleep I can take my mother out the garage door and into the backyard and bury her. For now, I take Maddie upstairs to my room. I sit her on top of my dresser, so I can get a good look at her. "Hey sweet girl," I say cupping her face. "You've been up all night hiding. I bet you're tired, huh?" I ask. She nods with her thumb in her mouth. "Okay, why don't you close your eyes and take a nap. I need to get some stuff packed for us because we have to take a trip. Okay?" _We need to get in our Mother's car and get out of here before anyone finds us. Hopefully we can wait a few days before leaving because we will need all the rest we can get before taking this trip._

Maddie's eyes grow wide and I can see her start to panic. "N-no!" She cries out.

"Shh, shh, shh," I rub her cheek. "I'll be right here, princess. I'll be right here. I'll lay with you until you fall asleep and then I will just be in the other rooms getting stuff for our trip, okay?" Maddie nods against my hand. I pick her up and bring her over to my bed. With her free hand, she clings to my shirt. I hum her a lullaby our father used to sing to me. By the second verse, Maddie is out cold. Ever so gently, I gather her in my one arm and use the other to stand up. I pull back the covers and lay her in bed. Her curly brown hair sprawls all over my baby blue pillow. Her cheeks have a pink tint to them and she is sucking on her thumb. I know she isn't going to be taking _just_ a nap. She'll sleep for several hours, making it easy for me to take care of things. After knowing my baby sister is down for the count, I head downstairs and into the garage. I find the shovel and walk quietly into the backyard.

~*Before the Dawn*~

It takes me two and a half hours to dig a hole that is barely big enough for my mother and drag her body outside. It takes another thirty minutes to compose myself long enough to cover her body with dirt and then another hour to cover her. I spent another fifteen minutes making a gravestone and placing it on the freshly piled dirt. Afterwards, I go back inside, lean against the counter and cry. Again. Hot angry tears roll down my face as I curse the men who killed my mother.

Eventually, I will myself to move upstairs and take a shower. I need to wash her blood and the dirt off of me. Besides, who knows how long it will be before I can take another shower. Who knows how long the apocalypse will last? After I finish washing, I go into my room to change. Maddie has moved into a different position then when I left her. Instead of her head being on my pillow, her head is now in the middle of the bed with her feet resting on my pillows. I chuckle quietly at the sight. I feel my body longing to shut down, to close my eyes and sleep. But I still have so much to do.

I go back downstairs and peek in my fridge. I pull out one of my energy drinks and crack it open. These are something I'll definitely need to pack. I chug half the can before putting it down and starting the task of packing. I head back into the garage and pull out our camping backpacks along with a suitcase. This suitcase was my father's. He used it when he needed to fly to Oregon to help with a murder case that had started in Forks. It's a big suitcase that could probably hold a lot. It moves smoothly when it is being rolled and it's also quiet. It is exactly what we will need for our trip.

Taking the backpacks upstairs, I start in my sister's room. I walk to her dresser and start grabbing clothes. I make sure to grab at least ten pairs each of underwear and socks. Then I go through the shirts. I grab four short sleeved shirts, four long sleeved shirts, and two turtle neck sweaters. I then grabbed five pairs of Maddie's shorts and five pairs of her sweatpants. Next, I take the clothes I've selected and begin rolling them into the shape of a tube. My father taught me this one time before we went camping. It allows us to have more room in our backpacks, so we can pack more. Because my little sister's backpack is small, only her clothes and a few more items will fit in here.

I decide to go to the bathroom and throw all of the toothbrushes and toothpaste we had into her bag. Maybe we won't get to brush our teeth everyday, but every now and then when our teeth are bad, we can brush them. I also gather all of the medicine we've collected through the years. Between Maddie and I, we have likely been sick or injured at least fifteen or twenty times. Probably me more than her.

Because of our hospital and doctor visits, we've accumulated a bunch of different types of medicine that we can take with us. Antibiotics for if we get an infection. Cough and cold syrup because face it, the last thing we want to do is draw a horde of zombies to us with a coughing fit…; Benadryl because you just never know when you might have an allergy attack. And my personal favorite, Ibuprofen, for cramps or headaches, or really anything. Plus it's an anti-inflammatory.

After stuffing the medicine into her backpack, I am able to fit in the peroxide, two boxes of bandaids and three boxes of gauze, plus medical tape and polysporin. You never know when those items may come in handy. I pack my menstrual cup since I'm not currently on my monthly but would eventually need it. I also pack the three spares I had. Who knows how long we'd be away for? Maybe eventually Maddie can use one. I bite my lip when I think about what all this will mean for Maddie growing up. And what should I do about her growth spurts? I'll have to check in the attic to see if my mother kept any of my old clothes. Hand-me-downs seem like the safest option. I don't want to roam the stores any more than necessary. Imagine how many zombies there might be!

I take Maddie's full backpack and my empty backpack into my room. I pull out the same amount of clothes and style of clothing as I did for my sister. I also pick out two extra pairs of red underwear and two black yoga pants. These will be my designated clothes for that time of the month, just in case. Black hides stains and the style is comfortable. Hopefully there will be opportunities to wash our clothes in the river when we are near one. When there isn't, we'll just have to make do.

With the extra room in my backpack, I decide to stuff a lot more stuff into it. Being older, I can afford to overstuff my backpack because I can manage the extra weight. First, I go into to my mother's room and grab a picture of her and my father and stuff it into the bag. Next, I go back to the garage. I stuffed a couple of crank lanterns and LED flashlights, from our camping trips, into my bag. Then, I stuffed our extra batteries and matches, in a sealed box, into my bag. Finally, I go into the corner of the garage that holds our safe.

Putting in my father's birthday as the code, I open the door to the safe and rummage through the guns. My father always collected guns. He would take me and my mother out to the shooting range and show off as he shot the targets. It wasn't until I was twelve that he showed me how to shoot. I was really excited because that meant when we went camping, we could also go hunting. My father was thrilled that I turned out to be a tomboy instead of a girly girl.

I pick up the Beretta 96A1 first. This gun is a little more powerful than your standard nine millimeter because it can hit 1,190 feet per second and pack a heavy punch. I move to the Colt 1911 next. It holds a standard 7-round magazine and shoots at a velocity of 1,225 feet per second. These are two out of the three guns I have experience using with my father. The third gun is a MP-40. I remember when my father brought it home. My mother was really mad he spent ten thousand dollars on it. But in this moment, I'm sure they would both be glad of the investment. The MP-40 is a submachine gun, so it will come in handy. The rest of the guns in the safe are ones I haven't fired before. I'm sure I can pick it up easily though.

I'm not sure the names of them, but I pull out two more pistols and a sniper rifle. I make sure I grab all of the Ammo my father had in the safe that go with each gun. Then, I ensure they are unloaded except the Beretta and MP-40. After checking and double checking the safety is on, I stick the Beretta in the waistband of my pants. The rest of the unloaded handguns and Ammo are stuffed into my backpack. I sling the sniper rifle over my shoulder and allowed it to rest against my back. Then, I put the safety on the MP-40 and allow it to hang off my shoulder on my right side. Grabbing my backpack, I head back inside to the kitchen.

The suitcase is the last thing I need to pack. I place the two guns on the table with my backpack while I go up into the attic. I cough as the dust is disturbed. After it settles, I look for boxes marked with my name. I find them easily and opened them. I gather six outfits from each size, making sure to choose something for each season. I also grab a few pairs of sturdy, old sneakers in various sizes. I take the clothes downstairs and roll them. I stuff them into the suitcase. Seeing the sneakers I packed for Maddie reminds me I will need a few pairs for myself. I run upstairs and grab two extra pairs and stuff them into the suitcase when I get back to the kitchen.

Thankfully, with my father being an outdoorsman before passing, he had taught us to buy dehydrated foods that are delicious and can keep forever. As a result we have a whole pantry full the stuff in the garage. So, I pick up the energy drink from earlier and finish it while I move between the kitchen and garage stuffing the rest of the suitcase full of food, water bottles, and a pot. I pull out a sturdy cardboard box and fill it with canned food, checking the dates on the cans as I go, and the last of my energy drinks. We might only have the car for a few days depending on what happens, but for as long as we do, we can continue to use up the heavier canned foods. After that, we can rely on all of our camping food.

The water bottles are for us to drink and refill. The pot is to boil water after the bottled water and purified water tablets are all gone. Who knows what will be in rivers and streams we find. _Oh!_ That reminds me, I need to bring that garden thingy, in case it's ever safe enough to settle anywhere for a longer time. My mother saw it on an infomercial once and insisted we needed it. It's basically an emergency garden in a box with seeds to plant; absolutely every vegetable and fruit we could possibly want to grow. I don't know if we'll ever have a place to plant it, but it'd be a waste not to bring it. I grab it off of the shelf in the garage and place in the suitcase before zipping it up and moving it by the front door. After making sure the garage door is locked back up, I walk upstairs to my room to lay with Maddie and get some shut eye.

*****Meet the Characters*****

Name: Renee Swan

Age: 45

Likes: Spending time with her daughters

Education: College degree for teaching

Relationship Status: Widowed; was wife to Charles Swan

Current turn on: N/A

Current turn off: N/A

Height: 5'5"

Weight: 138 lbs

Size: 7

Currently: Deceased

 **~*Before the Dawn*~**

Name: Charlie Swan

Age: 46 (as of 3 years ago- he would now be 49)

Likes: Camping and Fishing

Education: Police Force Training

Relationship Status: Was married to Renee Swan

Current turn on: N/A

Current turn off: N/A

Height: 6'1"

Weight: 245 lbs

Size: 40x32

Currently: Deceased

 **~*Before the Dawn*~**

Name: Maddie Swan

Age: 3

Likes: Ponies and Macaroni and Cheese

Education: Daycare

Relationship Status: Crushing on a kid in daycare

Current turn on: N/A (She's a child you sick fuck ;P)

Current turn off: N/A

Height: 3'2"

Weight: 30.5 lbs

Size: 3T

Currently: Scared but sleeping


	3. Raiding the Cupboards

It looks like I will be out of commission for a few days. I found out I have tendinitis, so I need to get a shot in my hand tomorrow. Which will result in me not being about to use my hand for at least a day or two. But I promise to try my best to type one handed :)

*WARNING* This is rated M for Mature. There will be violent and graphic scenes as well as some scenes of sex. I do not advise anyone under 18 to read this. You choose to read this at your own risk. If anything about this story bothers you, I suggest putting it down.

*Disclaimer* Twilight's character's belong to Stephenie Meyer. The story line belongs to Bella Marie Whitlock and I.

Enjoy!

 **~*Before the Dawn*~**

 **Chapter 3 – Raiding the Cupboards**

Someone poking my cheek wakes me up several hours later. I blink a few times and look to my left to find Maddie. I smile softly and pull her to me as I tickle her tummy. Her contagious belly laugh echoes off the walls and I can't help but laugh. Finally, I stop tickling her and let her catch her breath. I notice the sun is beginning to rise, meaning I slept straight through from the early evening until dawn. What has Maddie been doing in the meantime?

"Princess, how long have you been up?" I question.

"Onwy a wittle bit. I sweep a wong time," she said drawing out the word 'long' as an emphasis. Maddie cocks her head to the side and stares at me.

"What is it, Mads?"

"Bell head bweeding," she answers as she reaches forward to wipe at my forehead. She pulls her hand back and I see the glistening red on her fingers. The blood makes me feel a little queasy, but I can't afford to pass out now.

Springing out of bed, I rush to the bathroom swearing under my breath. I forgot to patch my head up after my shower yesterday. I must have hit it in my sleep. After I wipe the blood off, I put some butterfly stitches over it. _Oh!_ That's another thing I need to pack! I grab the box and return to my room. Maddie is sitting on the bed, so I pick her up and carry her downstairs. I put her down real quick, making sure she doesn't see the blood stain, and stuff the stitches in my backpack. "Let's get you something to eat. I think we are going to stay here for a couple of days before we go on vacation. Okay?" Maddie nods in agreement.

I open the fridge and grab the milk. "Alright, princess. We're having cereal for breakfast, okay?"

My little sister pouts. "Can we has pancakes?" She asks in her sweet little voice.

Sighing softly, I shake my head. "Sorry, sweet girl, but no. We need to finish up the milk before it goes bad. Maybe tomorrow." I move to our pantry and pull out the lucky charms cereal my sister loves so much. This is one of her favorite cereals.

"Otay." Maddie says.

After I pour her some cereal with milk, I rummage through the rest of our pantry for any food I might have missed. I pull out a box of granola bars and grin. This will come in handy for a quick snack. I toss it on the counter and resume searching. A few minutes pass by and I come up with three more boxes of granola bars and a box of strawberry poptarts. I pop open the box of poptarts and indulge myself in the sugary sweetness. I moan softly and close my eyes. This is something I will definitely miss!

When Maddie finishes her breakfast, I am fast to set her up with her coloring books and crayons at the table. _Hmm, is this something I should pack? Will it keep her occupied? Should I also pack some of her stuffed animals?_ Seeing her coloring with a smile on her face makes up my mind. I need to keep her innocence in tack as long as I can. I go into the living room and gather as many coloring books and notebooks as I can. My mother always leaves notebooks lying around. They are usually in the drawer of the end tables or in her desk in the corner. She believed there was never enough notebooks in the house and they only cost her ten cents at Walmart during back-to- school time. I pick up the board game, _Monopoly_. It's a game she and I can play if we ever have time to settle somewhere for a short period of time.

As I stuff the activities into the suitcase, the blood stain catches my attention. I stand up and walk into the kitchen to gather some cleaning supplies. I fill a bucket with hot water and walk back to the living room. Kneeling down in front of the stain, my eyes start to water. Robotically, I move my hands to the soapy hot water and pull out a rag and begin to scrub. With each scrub, memories of time with my mother assault me.

" _Mom!" I shout as I run down the stairs._

" _What?!" She asks in a panic._

 _I was holding a very young Maddie in my arms as I stopped at the bottom. "She has a tooth!"_

 _My mother cried in joy as she took my sister's face in her hands and attacked it with kisses. "Well, isn't that something! My baby is growing up!"_

 ** _~*Before the Dawn*~_**

 _A crying made my mother's head and mine snap up. We both rushed out of the kitchen and into the living room. There, we found Maddie at the bottom of the steps crying. She was only and year and a half old, so it would be hard to ask her what was wrong._

 _My mother crouched in front of Maddie with her arms wide open. Maddie sprung into them sobbing her eyes out. "What's wrong, sweet pea?"_

 _Maddie, unable to answer, pointed to the stairs and then to her knees._

 _It took me a few minutes to realize that she tried climbing them and tumbled down. My mother, however was faster than me and was already kissing her bruised knees before I could say a word._

I don't know how long I've been scrubbing. I stare blankly at the pink spot with tears in my eyes. After reliving the memories of my mother, I can't help but think of it as a good thing. It's best that she died. Or else, she could have come back and gone after Maddie. Then Maddie would be turned like her. And that would mean _I_ would have to kill them both. But still, I cursed the men who killed her. Because if she didn't die at all, all three of us would be alive and running together. I sigh and stand up when I realize I can't clean it anymore. This is the best I can do.

I take the bucket to the kitchen and dump it down the sink. I watch as the pink water drains. I place the cleaning supplies back under the sink and sit at the table with Maddie. "Wanna draw, sissy?" Maddie asks looking up from her book.

"No, I'm good, princess. You enjoy the fun. I'm gonna try and text Emmett." I reach over and pat her hand. She giggles softly before returning to her book.

Looking at my phone, it's on thirty percent. I'll have to charge it before I leave. It may come in handy. Opening my text messages, I notice I already have a few texts from Emmett.

 _Bells?! Are you okay?! I just saw the news! Why the hell was Seattle bombed?!_

 _They are saying it was a terrorist attack! Please tell me you're okay? Where's Aunt Renee and Mads?"_

" _Bells? Are you there?"_

" _Isabella Marie Swan! Answer your fucking phone and tell me if you're okay!_

Biting my lip, I push the reply button and begin to type a message. _Emmett, I'm safe for now. Please call me._

Instantly, my phone rings. "Bells?!" He cries in relief.

"Yes," I say softly. "It's me." I pause before continuing on. "I was in my car coming home from campus when the bombs went off all around me. It wasn't a terrorist attack. This is going to sound unbelievable but there are _zombies_ in Seattle, Em, and the government thought it would be easiest to bomb our city in an attempt to stop the outbreak. It didn't work though. I had to walk home, which is also where my phone was. It took me hours to get back here and I arrived yesterday. But I didn't think to check my phone yet because I've been busy packing. So I didn't see your messages until today, I'm sorry."

"Zombies? Are you sure, Bells?" Emmett asks.

I sigh. "Yes, Emmett, I'm sure. I saw one of them kill someone with my own eyes right after the bombing." I shiver as I think about the little girl and that zombie. Taking a deep breath, I force out the words I didn't want to say, but knew Emmett needed to know. "Emmett… My mother is dead. I think she was killed by raiders. They never found Maddie though. She was still hiding in a cupboard when I got home. "

Emmett sucks in a sharp breath at my words. "Oh, God! Bells, I was so worried you were _all_ dead! I couldn't reach Aunt Renee on her phone either. I'm so sorry about your mom!"

"I think I have pretty much everything we need packed. I'm ready to get on the road with Maddie. We can't stay here," I tell him, changing the subject.

"Come to Colorado! I'll wait here until you arrive. I'm staying at the Magnolia Hotel in Denver."

I smiled brightly. Why didn't I think of that? "Alright! Give us two days to make sure we have absolutely everything and that I'm well rested and we'll be on our way. I'm going to have to drive out so it will take a few days to get there. I wanna say expect me in a week if nothing goes wrong!"

 **~*Before the Dawn*~**

After jinxing us with my words to Emmett, something _does_ go wrong. It's the day we are suppose to leave and Maddie is sick. I don't want to be traveling with a sick Maddie, so I have to text Emmett letting him know we will need a couple of extra days. Of course, he agrees, since having Maddie throwing up or coughing while we're out there on the road would be a death sentence for us.

I wait on Maddie hand and food, feeding her soup and pumping her with medicine. Due to her feverish state, she cries out for our mother. When our mother doesn't come, she cries out more and starts begging. _How am I supposed to explain to a sick child that our mother isn't here anymore?_ After many more times of her calling out, I finally find the courage to tell her.

"Princess, mommy can't come to you," I say softly.

Crying, she looks over at me. "W-Why?" She whispers, her little voice strained from yelling for mommy.

Trying not to cry myself, I brush her sticky hair away from her face. "The men who banged on our door were bad. They hurt mommy. She was hurt so much that she had to leave to go keep daddy company in heaven."

Through the tears, Maddie smiles weakly. "She's happy wif daddy then," she says tiredly. She yawns before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.

"Yes, princess, she is happy with daddy now," I whisper as I wipe the sweat off of her face and the tears from mine.

Hearing the moaning and shuffling of zombies outside, I decide to sleep downstairs with my MP-40 just in case. I do not want to risk sleeping upstairs and them getting in. If they get upstairs before I am awake to grab my gun, Maddie and I are both goners. This way, sleeping downstairs, allows me to react fast and keep her safe. I am sure I will be a light sleeper tonight.

 **~*Before the Dawn*~**

Another two days pass before Maddie is well again. My phone chimes with a text message, grabbing my attention. Picking up my phone, I see it's from Emmett.

 _Military is here in Denver claiming they can help. Too many people in one place is not smart. I'm going to lay low at the hotel and hope they don't force people to go with them._

Clicking my tongue, I reply to him. _Probably the best idea. If I do get to Denver and you're not at the hotel, we need to set up a place to meet._

I go into the kitchen, with Maddie right on my heels, to make us some breakfast. I pull out the pancake mix, thinking it's time to use it before we have to leave. Plus, pancakes will make Maddie happy. My phone chimes as I get out a mixing bowl.

 _Good idea. If I get run out of the hotel, I'll find somewhere in the area to stay. If I'm not at the hotel, we can meet at a bowling alley called Lucky Strike. I'll try to secure it until you get here, I'll check it everyday at dawn. For as long as it's safe there, I'll leave a red bandana on the back doorknob. If you don't see it, find somewhere in the area to lay low and I'll find you as soon as I can. Hopefully our phones are still working at that point._

 _I agree._ _We'll be on our way after breakfast._ I type back quickly.

Just as I hit send, the electricity goes out in our house. "You have _got_ to be kidding me!" I yell out loud. How ironic is it that after we text each other about meeting up, does the power go out. _Un-fucking-believable,_ I think to myself.

"Sorry, Mads, we can't have pancakes. The power just went out."

"Aww," Maddie mumbles sadly.

Looking at my phone, the corner of my screen read 'no service'. Ugh! I toss my phone onto the counter and grab the last of the milk out of the fridge and pour it into a bowl with cereal for Maddie. As Maddie is eating breakfast and I am munching on a poptart, I gather our winter jackets from the closet. I open the front door and look out cautiously. Seeing no one in sight, I pick up the cardboard box and take it to my mother's trunk. Running back to the house, I grab the suitcase and run it to the trunk as well. The backpacks are next and I place them in the back seat within easy reach.

Now all I have to do is get Maddie ready when she's done eating. It's going to be bittersweet leaving this place. We've had a lot of good memories here over the years but also some bad ones. The image of scrubbing my mother's blood out of the floor being one of the bad ones. Maybe it's a good thing we are leaving. I don't think this house will ever be the same for me after that. I'll just have to do my best to make Maddie feel at home wherever we go. She deserves that much and it's the least I can do. She may not have mom anymore but she's still got me.

 *******Meet the Characters*******

No new faces at the moment :) Stay tuned!


	4. To Serve and Protect

Hey, guys! I was able to get this chapter out with the help of my co-writer, Bella Marie Whitlock. I have been out of commission the past two days because of my hand. Yesterday I had to go to the doctor and get a shot in my wrist. It numbed my hand all day long that I wasn't able to get much done.

*WARNING* This is rated M for Mature. There will be violent and graphic scenes as well as some scenes of sex. I do not advise anyone under 18 to read this. You choose to read this at your own risk. If anything about this story bothers you, I suggest putting it down.

*Disclaimer* Twilight's character's belong to Stephenie Meyer. The story line belongs to Bella Marie Whitlock and I.

Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the new chapter!

-K.

 **Chapter 4 - To Serve and Protect**

After Maddie finishes with her breakfast, I help her into her jacket and sneakers. Next, I sling the empty sniper rifle over my head. Then, I put the jacket on over it and I sling the MP-40 on my shoulder and grab a few blankets out of the closest and our pillows to have in the car with us. Finally, I place my Beretta into the waistband of my pants. "Maddie, stay close to me. We are going to mom's car. Okay?" Maddie nods and huddles close to me.

I open the front door and slowly walk to my mother's car while keeping an eye out. Unlocking the car and opening the door, I put Maddie's booster seat into the back and help her in. I buckle her into the booster seat and close her door. Making my way around the car, I scan the streets.

I open the driver's door and place my MP-40 and sniper rifle behind the passenger's seat so it will be easy for me to reach just like the backpacks.

I hop in driver's seat and close the door. I start up the car and almost cry out in joy. It looks like my mother filled her car on her way home from work a few days ago. Shifting into reverse, I back out of the drive way. The streets are empty of people, but debris is everywhere. I drive through our neighborhood and onto the main road leading out of town. I turn left heading towards Colorado. I assume that Highway 71 will be bombarded with cars, so it would probably be hard to get through and it will slow us down. Taking the back roads to Colorado should prove to be faster. Finally, after five days since the outbreak, we are on our way to Emmett. Hopefully we can get there on time. I told him a week and a half.

 **~*Before the Dawn*~**

I want to say it's around five in the evening when I notice our gas getting low and Maddie becoming sleepy. I pull off the road and maneuver the car into the woods. I hope by keeping us off the road while we sleep, we can stay out of sight and no one will bother us. I shut the car off and turn to a sleepy Maddie. Leaning my seat back, I reach over and get her out of her seatbelt and booster. I pull her onto my lap and hold her close to me. Before reaching for blankets and a pillow, I check that our doors are locked. Securing Maddie against me, I kiss her forehead, whisper goodnight, and close my eyes.

 **~*Before the Dawn*~**

When I wake up, it's early morning. The sun is just now rising. I move slowly to lay Maddie down on the seat behind me. There is no need for her to wake up when she can stay asleep for a while longer. I maneuver her in my arms carefully, keeping her curled up in the blanket as I lay her down. I pull the seatbelt over her body and buckle her in lying down, just to be safe. I start the car and head for the road again.

Half an hour later, I see a little convenience store. It has a gas station connected to it, which gives me hope. Maybe I can get more gas here. _Should I bother to try my credit card?_ Pulling into the station, I park my car at the pump closest to the store. I turn off the engine and get out. I pull my Beretta out and hold it in my right hand, in case I need to use it. I grab my credit card out and slide it along the pad. Nothing happens, so I sigh. Looks like the credit cards are already done for. Glancing at the store, I wonder if I should head in.

Making up my mind, I head to Maddie's side of the car. "Princess?" I ask softly as I open the back door. She stirs in her seat and looks up at me. "I need to head into that store behind me," I point. "I need you to be awake and aware. Make sure you don't get out of the car and don't let anyone in. Okay? I'm going to lock the door." Maddie nods sleepily and puts her thumb in her mouth. Looking over her face for any sign that I shouldn't do this, I don't find one. Sighing, I stand up and shut the car door. I hit the lock button and head into the store.

Pushing open the door, I notice the lights are off. I scan the aisles and look for anything out of place. The store is still very neat. It's like shelves were never even touched. I go to the counter and hop over it. Standing behind the counter, I look at the register. There are dozens of buttons on it. I pull my phone out of my pocket to use as a light. I shine the light over the buttons and find a few that have to do with gas. Pressing the one that says 'fill', I hear a ding. The screen then prompts me to put in a pump number. Squinting out the window, I see I am at pump eight.

After pressing the number eight button, I move around the store picking up a couple things. I find a few gas cans. These will come in handy. I pick up a lighter and some butane. I'm ecstatic when I come across the aisle of poptarts. Maddie will enjoy eating these! I grab a bunch of the boxes and place them, with some other junk food, in the little carts the store has. I begin pushing the cart outside.

I freeze and my heart clenches when I come up to the door. I see a zombie outside, scratching at the window near where Maddie is now sitting. I can see her sobbing and trying not to look at it. I can only imagine what she is seeing. The hideous monster is probably covered head to toe in blood or missing body parts. Dropping my hold on the cart, I push the store's door open. The jingling makes the zombie snap it's head in my direction.

"Sweet girl, look away!" I instruct. Bile rises to my throat when I see the intestines hanging out of it's body. It makes me think back to the little girl from earlier in the week once again. One of it's eyes is missing and the other one is glassy. It begins shuffling toward me and I grip my Beretta. Please don't let Maddie see this. Please don't let her see me kill it. I raise the gun with shaky hands and aim at the creature's head. As it drags its left foot and extends its hands, I take the safety off. When it starts groaning, I put my finger on the trigger. It is barely a few feet from me when I pull the trigger. The loud crack from the gun makes the nearby birds scatter.

The zombie's brain matter flies backwards and covers the ground. I bring my hand to my mouth and take in what I just did. I just killed a person. Well, not really a _person_ anymore. But still, I killed something! _Holy Fuck_. After registering the sheer volume of the loud crack my gun made, my eyes grow wide in alarm. I rush to grab the cart and hurriedly pack the goods into the car. I fill the three gas cans and then my car. I shove the cans inside and peel out of there hoping that no one and nothing comes our way due to the noise of the gun.

Looking over at my baby sister, I notice she is trembling. Taking one hand off the steering wheel, I reach into the back seat and take Maddie's hand in mine to comfort her. She quietly speaks. "S-sissy, why you shoot man?"

Sighing, I try to think how I should explain this to her. She's only three years old, for crying out loud!"Um, well, you see Mads, those people are bad people. They are trying to hurt us. There are many people like them that will be trying to hurt us too. We have to shoot them to stop them. Okay?"

I look over in time to see her nodding. "I has to shoot?" She asks.

Shaking my head, I tell her, "No, sweet girl, _you don't_ have to shoot. You are too small for that. It will be my job."

"Otay," Maddie smiles, seeming slightly relieved.

"Princess, I got us some poptarts. The box is right beside you on the seat. If you can get it open, you can have some." I hear the excitement in her giggle as she begins digging through the pile of junk food without answering me. I hear the tearing of the cardboard and the crinkling of a wrapper. I smile as my sister eats her snack in peace.

They don't hold her over for long however. Maddie soon becomes antsy and starts squirming around. After a while, I realize she is bored. I begin a game of I Spy with her. "I spy with my pretty brown eyes, something that is... " I look around and notice there isn't much I can use. "Um, brown," I say uncertain. Will she even think of tree trunks?

I can sense Maddie looking out of her window trying to find the brown object. "Um, da sign," she points to a sign as we pass it.

"Not it, princess." I hear her 'hmpf' as she looks out the window again. She guesses a few things before finally guessing the tree. Taking a few minutes to think, finally she says, "I spy wif my wittle eye somefing bwue."

Rolling my eyes, it's obvious it's the sky. But, I decide to play with her a little bit. "The bird," I guess.

Giggling, she responds with, "What biwd? I no see one!"

"Um, your shirt?" I ask.

"No! Is outside da caw," she hints.

"Oh! I know! Is it the sky?"

Bouncing in her seat, she cheers. "Yes!" I laugh quietly.

I Spy lasts only a few more rounds before she starts getting bored again. There are only so many times you can ask for something brown, green, white, or blue. It makes it too easy to spot the things we are thinking of, especially if we've already used them. Eventually, I pull over and put more gas into the tank from one of the ten gallon cans. After thinking for a minute, I remember the coloring books I packed earlier. I go into the trunk and open the suitcase. I pull out a coloring book and crayons for Maddie to use. Before closing the trunk, I grab an energy drink and bring it to the front to drink. As I predicted, the coloring book keeps Maddie occupied while I drive many more miles.

After being on the road for several hours, I finish passing through Washington and come across the 'Welcome to Idaho' sign. It takes me eight hours on back roads to get to Latah, Idaho. If I was able to take the Interstate it only would have only been five and a half hours. Now, it should only have about twelve hundred miles to reach Denver, Colorado.

I pull off into the woods like I did back in Washington and shut off the engine. Yawning, I lean my seat back. Maddie climbs over the console and curls into my lap. I rub her back as I begin humming. Softly I sing the lullaby my father used to sing. "Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high; there's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby. Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue, and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true." Licking my lips, I continue. "Someday I'll wish upon a star, and wake up where the clouds are far, behind me. Where troubles melt like lemon drops, away above the chimney tops, that's where you'll find me.

"Somewhere over the rainbow, bluebirds fly, birds fly over the rainbow. Why then, oh, why can't I? If happy little bluebirds fly, beyond the rainbow, why, oh, why, can't I?" I finish softly. Maddie's soft snores alert me to her deep slumber. Slowly, I close my eyes and match my breathing to hers as I fall asleep.

*****Meet the Characters*****

None at the moment :)


	5. Road to Nowhere

*WARNING* This is rated M for Mature. There will be violent and graphic scenes as well as some scenes of sex. I do not advise anyone under 18 to read this. You choose to read this at your own risk. If anything about this story bothers you, I suggest putting it down.

*Disclaimer* Twilight's character's belong to Stephenie Meyer. The story line belongs to Bella Marie Whitlock and I.

 **~*Before the Dawn*~**

Hey, guys! Sorry it took a couple days to get this out but I've been having one heck of a week/weekend. Today starts a new week for me, so I plan to double time it! I'll be posting more of my other stories too.

Anyway, enjoy the new addition!

-K.

 **Chapter 5 - Road to Nowhere**

The warm sun against my skin wakes me up. I squint my eyes as I open them and look out the window. Seeing there aren't any zombies outside, I move Maddie over onto the passenger seat. Quietly, I open my door and get out to stretch my legs, moaning as my cramped calf muscles relax themselves. I walk around back and open the trunk. I grab a couple granola bars and begin munching on them for my breakfast. Getting back into the car, I turn the key in the engine. However, a weird wheezing sound is the only answer I receive. Furrowing my eyebrows, I try to start it again.

When nothing happens, I hit the steering wheel, thus startling Maddie into waking up. She looks around confused and turns to me. "Wat wong, sissy?" She asks.

"The car won't start for me, princess. It looks like we need to walk a bit. I'm sorry." I apologize, leaning my head into the steering wheel, ashamed. I should have made sure the car was running smoothly before leaving the house! _Fuck!_

"Is otay," Maddie says patting my arm.

I let out a small laugh at her angelic attempt to comfort me. "Stay here until I say you can come out," I order, needing her to obey. Straightening up, I get out of the car. I open the trunk and pull out the suitcase and the cardboard box. I place the box and our blankets on top of the suitcase, securing it with a bungee cord, so we can pull both at the same time. I take the empty gas cans and tie them together with some string I find in my mother's trunk. I hang them off of the suitcase in a way that they don't drag on the ground. This way, it will also keeps my arms free, so I can still use my gun if needed. Moving around to the back doors, I pull out my sniper and throw it over my head to rest on my back. I take my backpack and put in on and hang the MP-40 over my shoulder. "Alright, Mads, you can come out now."

Maddie slowly opens her door and steps out. I reach into the back and grab her backpack. I hold it out to her and she turns to allow me to put the straps on her shoulders and waist. Using one hand to hold onto our suitcase and the other on my gun for quick access, I crouch down to Maddie's level. "Listen, princess, I want you to stay right next to me. Keep ahold of my jacket and don't let go at all. Okay?

"Mhm," Maddie agrees with the nod of her head. As I stand, Maddie reaches up and grasps the bottom of my jacket. Moving through the woods we had pulled into the night before, I direct us back out to the road. When we come to the edge of the trees, I look before I bring us out into the open. I don't see any zombies yet, so that's a good sign. Making sure my hand is ready at all times, we begin walking down the side of the road. I listen intently for any type of movements or unusual sounds.

Hearing nothing makes me very happy. It means we are safe for the time being. "Maddie, you let me know when you start to get tired and we will take a break." I look down at her.

Maddie looks up at me with a goofy grin. "Otay, sissy." She starts to skip beside me, still holding onto my jacket. "Where we goin'?" She asks curiously.

"We are going to go see cousin Emmett. Now please walk nicely, you need to save your energy sweetie." I answer her, careful not to lose my patience. It's frustrating that she doesn't get to just be a kid, but this is no leisurely stroll we are on.

Maddie let's out a squeal. "Cousin Emmett! Yay!" She cheers.

Stopping us, I turn to Maddie with my finger on my lips. "Shh, princess. We can't be too loud, honey, the bad people will come if they hear us."

Imitating me, she places her fingers on her lips. "Shh," she says with a tiny giggle.

I begin walking again and Maddie follows quickly. When we hear a snap of a twig, Maddie places her fingers on her lips and shushes. I, however, snap my head to the forest and scan along the trees. When a rabbit pops out, I sigh in relief, still watching the rabbit while we walk ahead of it. I don't want it following us or attracting attention. I'll need to come up with some sort of a snare eventually. By the time our food runs out, rabbits like that one won't look much different to us than a roasting chicken.

After we get far enough from the rabbit, I stop to grab a bottle of our water out of the suitcase. I take a sip and pass it to Maddie. She takes a big gulp and hands the bottle back to me. I put the cap on it and hold it back out to her. "You hold. That will be your job." Taking the bottle happily, Maddie holds it with her free hand as we continue walking.

 **~*Before the Dawn*~**

It's about twenty minutes later and Maddie has started doing the pee pee dance. She lets go of my jacket, puts her hand between her legs and stops walking "Sissy, I has to go potty," she warns urgently. I stop walking and look around. Shit, she's going to have to pee in the woods. I knew I'd forget to pack something, but _why_ did it have to be toilet paper!?

 _Is there any easy way to say this to her?_ I doubt it. "Um, okay. Well, we won't be able to use toilets here baby, so we have to go pee behind a tree," I say slowly. I begin to direct us to the side of the road.

"I has to pee out here?" Maddie asks me with huge eyes.

Nodding, I let go of the suitcase as we get to the tree line. "Yes, princess. The toilets don't work anymore. But we can do our potty business right here, since there is no one to see us. Don't worry sweetie, I'll go too and show you how."

 **~*Before the Dawn*~**

When we have finished answering nature's call, I raid Maddie's backpack for a change of clothes for her, since her aim in the sport of outdoor pottying needs a little work. So much for beginner's luck! My clothes are still clean enough so far, so I only retrieve a change for Mads.

Pulling out a pink shirt with ponies and sparkles, I see Maddie jumping up and down in excitement. I hand off the shirt to her while I grab her some pink pants to match. I help her to change quickly. Next time she uses the facilities, I'll have her remove her bottoms completely so we don't keep wasting outfits every few hours. And the next time we're back in civilization, I am _so_ stocking up on toilet paper!

"Hold onto my jacket now," I tell her, after putting everything away again, as I grab the suitcase with my left hand. Thank God for hand sanitizer! I walk us back to the side of the road and look around cautiously. I freeze as I see a big black GMC Sierra extended cab heading our way. I start to back us up, but it is too late. The people in the vehicle see us and begin to pull over. I position Maddie behind me, taking a nervous gulp, as the truck comes to stop next to us.

A short girl with dark hair, not sure if it's black or brown, jumps out of the passenger side door. "Hi there! I'm Alice, Alice Brandon!" She greets, moving toward me. I'm not sure if her hands are raised for a handshake or a hug. I take a step back unsure of her motives. Taking Maddie with me.

"Alice, darlin', don't scare the poor girls." A tall blonde man said stepping in front of the truck and making his way over to Alice. He stops next to the girl and turns to my sister and I. He tips his hat to us before speaking, "Hello Ma'am, Miss; I'm Jasper Whitlock. An' you've met my overly excited girlfriend here. May I ask your names?"

I lick my dry lips. "I-I'm Bella Swan. This is my sister Maddie." My sister peers out from behind me.

A squeal makes me jump. I turn sharply to find that Alice is the one squealing. "Alice, stop it. You're scarin' 'em. And what did I say about the squealin'? It'll attract the zombies." The man named Jasper said while shaking his head.

"Oops! Right, sorry Jazzy!" She said to Jasper before turning back to Maddie and I. "Sorry, it's just, she's soooo cute! And her shirt is _adorable_!" Alice let's out a little giggle. "But anyway, where are you ladies headed?"

I open my mouth and then close it, not sure yet if I could trust these people. Alice is very excitable and Jasper is a little intimidating. What if they just want our food? I grip my MP-40 with my hand. Jasper, seeing this, puts his hands up. "Hey now, we ain't lookin' fer any trouble. We just want to find other survivors like us. I feel we'd be better off in groups than on our own. Don't you agree?"

Biting my lip, I release my grip on the gun. "I agree. But, I don't want to group up with just anyone. I don't know you or your intentions." I look both of them over from head to toe.

"If you want to know more about us and our intentions, I certainly don't mind tellin' ya. You see, I have a twin sister. My sister and I was born and raised in Texas, but we both struck out on our own to attend college. I came up here, to Idaho, while my sister found herself in Colorado. I met Alice here when I was a sophomore and she was a freshman. When the apocalypse broke out, the last I heard from my sister is that she is safe, still in Colorado, with a group o' people. They saved her from some terrible men and zombies. They're hidin' out in Colorado until my Alice and I can get there. Anything else you'd like to know?" Jasper asks.

Shifting my weight onto my left foot, I look at Alice. "Let me guess, you love shopping and your boyfriend. You'd follow him anywhere?"

With a nod, Alice answers, "That's me to a 'T'."

I look them over again. _They seem like good people. Alice looks like she couldn't hurt a fly. Jasper is worried about his sister and girlfriend. I'm sure he'll protect Alice with his life. But Alice, she's like a little pixie! I wonder how much trouble she can get into._ I lean my head back and let out a hearty laugh at my own thoughts. Alice probably thinks I'm laughing at her comment.

"Oh, Alice, we probably won't get along too well. I hate shopping. But Maddie loves it. So, it looks like your new best friend is a three year old." Jasper laughs, too, as I finish telling her this. Alice is pouting, probably from the fact that her only shopping and gossip buddy will be a three year old. "We're actually heading to Colorado, too. Our cousin is there waiting for us." Turning to Jasper, I smile. "I believe I can trust you, if you can trust me. Do we have a group or what?"

"Why Ma'am, I believe we do. Here, let me help you put your stuff in the back o' our truck." Jasper nods as he lifts the hatch on the box topper and lowers the tailgate . I notice they have a mattress in the bed of their truck. He puts our bags down beside it. I shoot him a quizzical look.

He explains, "This way, we have a comfortable place to sleep. Now, y'all will be able to rest back here whenever ya want to. I'm sure your feet hurt from walkin'. Alice and I will be up front. You're welcome to join us in the cab or ride in the back an' nap, whichever y'all prefer. I drove for a few hours, so it'll be Alice's turn for drivin'. You reckon you'll be able ta drive after her?" He asks as he tosses our pillow and blanket to the top of the bed. He picks up the box of cans and places it up against the left side of the tailgate. He picks up the suitcase and places it to the right of the box.

"Yeah, I can drive for a little bit." I pick up the empty gas cans off the ground. "You knocked these off my suitcase. I'm sure they'll come in handy."

Jasper's eyes light up. "Yes, they will! Smart thinkin', Bella." Jasper reaches forward and grabs the cans out of my hand. He tosses them to Alice, who deftly catches them and climbs into the driver's seat. I see her lean over and place them on the floor of the passenger side.

I reach down and pick Maddie up. I put her on top of the mattress. "Ooh! Dis is comfy!" She exclaims.

I giggle and grab a hold of the side of the truck. I use the side of the truck to help me get in the back. I sit down on the mattress and pull Maddie onto my lap. I nod at Jasper as he closes the latch and heads to the front. "Alright, princess, time to take a nap." I lean over to grab the pillow and blanket. I lay the pillow down beside me and Maddie climbs off my lap. She lays her head on the pillow with a small yawn as I cover her with the blanket. I rub her back as she drifts off into slumber.

I can feel and hear the truck's engine come alive. Looking into the front of the truck, I see that Jasper and Alice are talking quietly. Now is my chance to get to know them a little bit better. Before moving, I make sure Maddie is secure and comfortable. I open the window between the cab and the truck bed quietly. Throwing one leg through the opening, I easily climb into the cab. I sit down and immediately put my hand to my waist to make sure my Beretta didn't come off. Feeling that it is there, I smile contently and lean forward in my new found seat. "So, guys, how about a rousing game of twenty questions?"

*****Meet the Characters*****

Name: Jasper Whitlock

Age: 21

Likes: Civil War Reenactments

Education: Junior in College

Relationship Status: In a relationship with Alice Brandon

Current turn on: Energetic type

Current turn off: Rap music

Height: 6'3"

Weight: 154 lbs

Size: 32x32

Currently: Worried about his twin sister's safety (and Alice's!)

 **~*Before the Dawn*~**

Name: Alice Brandon

Age: 20

Likes: Shopping

Education: Sophomore in College

Relationship Status: In a relationship with Jasper Whitlock

Current turn on: The southern type

Current turn off: Someone having no sense of fashion!

Height: 4'10"

Weight: 98 lbs

Size: 1

Currently: Planning how to make over Bella


	6. As the World Falls Down

*WARNING* This is rated M for Mature. There will be violent and graphic scenes as well as some scenes of sex. I do not advise anyone under 18 to read this. You choose to read this at your own risk. If anything about this story bothers you, I suggest putting it down.

*Disclaimer* Twilight's character's belong to Stephenie Meyer. The story line belongs to Bella Marie Whitlock and I.

Hey my lovely readers! My co-writer and I made a special chapter for you all. It is Emmett's POV! This chapter is also _very_ long, so I want you to understand something. When it comes to the random POV's every now and then, they will not always be as long as this one! For Emmett, we had so much to say and we wanted to get it all out there so we didn't have to come back to him. This way, the next POV can be of someone else!

Anyhow, please enjoy the new chapter. Don't forget to leave a review to let us know what you think! Leaving both good or bad reviews always help up in the end!

-K.

 **Chapter 6 - As the World Falls Down**

 **Emmett's Point of View**

I sit here staring at the TV in shock. _What the fuck is happening?_ There are flames sprouting from the buildings and vehicles on the screen. If I didn't know this was the news, I'd think I was watching a movie. " _I repeat, the government confirms it was a terrorist attack. Terrorists bombed Seattle, Washington tonight."_

Reaching for my phone, I rush to text Bella. _Bells?! Are you okay?! I just saw the news! Why the hell was Seattle bombed?!_

I stare at my cell, waiting for a reply from my little cousin. Please, God, let them be okay! After a few minutes of no reply from Bella, I text her again. _They are saying it was a terrorist attack! Please tell me you're okay? Where's Aunt Renee and Mads?_

I stand up and begin pacing my hotel room. I knew I should have talked Aunt Renee into getting them to visit me here! They never leave Washington. They never even take a vacation anymore. I look up at the news broadcast again. The camera pans left and I can see a blue Ford Explorer flipped onto its roof. I quit pacing and stare at the screen in horror. Bella has a blue Ford Explorer! Shit! What the hell is her license plate number? I rack my brain trying to remember if I ever saw it when I visited them. I draw a blank and grab my phone again.

I type frantically, bordering on panic now. _Bells? Are you there?_

After waiting only a minute I send another text. _Isabella Marie Swan! Answer your fucking phone and tell me if you're okay!_

Giving up for the time being, I set my phone down and collapse onto the bed. I wait for my phone to ring and let me know that my family are still alive.

 _ **~*Before the Dawn*~**_

I wake up the next day in the afternoon with a frown on my face. I wasn't woken by any sound from my phone. Oh, God. Does this mean they are all dead? Does this mean it _was_ Bella's car on the news' video? I sit up slowly and get out of bed. I get dressed and head to the lobby. My stomach growling let's me know that I'm hungry, but I can't bring myself to eat when I'm this worried. No one in the lobby is panicked or outraged. It's as if it is a normal day for them. As I frown, my phone chimes. I immediately pull it out and check the message. _Finally_ , a text from Bella!

 _Emmett, I'm safe for now. Please call me._

I cry out in relief, which make people turn and look my way. Ignoring them, I hit the call button and head to the stairwell for some privacy. "Bells?!" I shout into the phone with relief.

"Yes," she says quietly. "It's me." There is a pause. "I was in my car coming home from campus when the bombs went off all around me. It wasn't a terrorist attack. This is going to sound unbelievable but there are _zombies_ in Seattle, Em, and the government thought it would be easiest to bomb our city in an attempt to stop the outbreak. It didn't work though. I had to walk home, which is also where my phone was. It took me hours to get back here and I arrived yesterday. But I didn't think to check my phone yet because I've been busy packing. So I didn't see your messages until today, I'm sorry."

 _Zombies? Is she serious? She isn't at the hospital on some kind of medication, is she?_ Confused, I ask for clarification. "Zombies? Are you sure, Bells?"

Sighing, she continues to tell me her story."Yes, Emmett, I'm sure. I saw one of them kill someone with my own eyes right after the bombing." Once again, there is a pause. "Emmett… My mother is dead. I think she was killed by raiders. They never found Maddie though. She was still hiding in a cupboard when I got home. "

Sucking in a sharp breath tears form in my eyes. _Aunt Renee is dead..._ "Oh, God! Bells, I was so worried you were _all_ dead! I couldn't reach Aunt Renee on her phone either. I'm so sorry about

"I think I have pretty much everything we need packed. I'm ready to get on the road with Maddie. We can't stay here," she says. She's really good at changing the subject when she doesn't want to talk about something.

"Come to Colorado! I'll wait here until you arrive. I'm staying at the Magnolia Hotel in Denver," I exclaim. It would be better to stick together. I can help protect my baby cousins. My _only_ cousins.

"Alright! Give us two days to make sure we have absolutely everything and that I'm well rested and we'll be on our way. I'm going to have to drive out so it will take a few days to get there. I wanna say expect me in a week if nothing goes wrong!"

When I hang up the phone with her, all I can do is sit in stunned silence. How much of what Bella told me can possibly be real? I mean zombies? Come on! I may be naive but that's a little much even for me to believe.

Maybe the terrorists put a chemical into the air that's making people _think_ they're seeing zombies. Or maybe it's some type of virus in the water that's making people _act_ like zombies. Or maybe it's all some huge hoax on a widespread scale, like H. created with The War of the Worlds? All I know is, it _can't_ be zombies.

 **~*Before the Dawn*~**

A chime wakes me up bright and early. Squinting from the sunlight, I sit up and stretch. Picking up my phone, I see another text from Bella. _Maddie is sick. I don't think it's safe to travel._

I make sure to text her back quickly. _Could be dangerous. Coughing or throwing up may attract unwanted attention. Good idea to stay home and wait it out._ After staying up all hours last night and doing as much research online into what's going on as I could find, it seems it isn't just Bella who believes this is zombies. Apparently that's what most people think. Although the media still isn't saying so.

After giving it some thought, I realized that even if there's only a one percent chance this is the real thing, we'd better prepare as if it is. After all, in The Boy Who Cried Wolf, the sheep all get eaten because no one takes it seriously, right?

Bella texts back while I'm making myself some coffee. _I'll text you when she's better._ Great, now all I have to do is wait.

 **~*Before the Dawn*~**

I wait to hear from Bella that Maddie is well again. It's two long days before I hear anything else from her. Finally, while I'm eating breakfast, my phone chimes three times. I set that as Bella's ringtone, so I know it's her.

 _Maddie is better._ Thank God!

Before I can reply, the loud hum of an engine makes me look up from my phone. Getting up, I move to the hotel room window and look out on the street. Tanks and military Jeeps are driving down the road. A loudspeaker attached to the front vehicle grabs my attention. At the sound of a horn beeping, people begin sticking their heads out of the doors and windows. Some of the more curious ones leave their houses to watch from the sidewalk.

"Ladies and gentleman, please, do not panic. The Armed Forces personnel currently arriving in your city are here to serve you. It is our job to protect you from the terrorists who attacked Seattle. We are still under attack" I scoff and roll my eyes. _Terrorists my ass._ "If you'll please come with us, we can assure your safety. We are evacuating you to a secure base of operations where you will be provided with more information as it becomes available to us."

Gripping my phone in my hand, I text Bella. _Military is here in Denver claiming they can help. Too many people in one place is not smart. I'm going to lay low at the hotel and hope they don't force people to go with them._

A few minutes pass and I see the text from her. _Probably the best idea. If I do get to Denver and you're not at the hotel, we need to set up a place to meet._

Looking out the window, I see people running toward the empty buses that the military are loading them in like cattle. I doubt the mother fuckers know what they are getting themselves into. If this _is_ the zombie apocalypse like Bella says it is, the military are taking these people to quarantine. It won't be safe anywhere much longer. If the military is here because of a virus, zombie or otherwise, then the bombing didn't work which means the outbreak is spreading from city to city. State to state.

 _Good idea. If I get run out of the hotel, I'll find somewhere in the area to stay. If I'm not at the hotel, we can meet at a bowling alley called Lucky Strike. I'll try to secure it until you get here, I'll check it everyday at dawn. For as long as it's safe there, I'll leave a red bandana on the back doorknob. If you don't see it, find somewhere in the area to lay low and I'll find you as soon as I can. Hopefully our phones are still working at that point._

Bella replies quickly. _I agree._ _We'll be on our way after breakfast._

 _Good. See you soon, Bells._

 **~*Before the Dawn*~**

A loud crash and screaming wakes me in the middle of the night. My eyes shoot open and I spring out of bed. Moving to the window, I peer out. I can see people running and screaming. There are also a couple of lifeless bodies on the ground. When one unbelievably starts to get up, I squint to look at it. I see blood pouring from his missing arm. When he takes a step forward, he staggers and stumbles. I watch in horror as the man launches himself at an elderly woman and begins eating her!

Pushing off the windowsill, I run for my door. I have to get out there and help as many people as I can! I rush down the few flights of stairs and out through the hotel's main doors. Immediately, I see a blonde woman being harassed by two leery men. They kept touching the woman. She seems really uncomfortable, which they don't seem to notice. "Come on, sweet cheeks, come with us. We can provide safety with all the guns that we have. Our leader, Royce, will most definitely want to protect a beauty like you with those assets."

Leader of what? Is this some type of gang. Wait- did he say _Royce_!? Fuck! If I remember correctly, from what my father told me the last time we were in Colorado together, that Royce guy is the head of the Dark Kings. They are sleazy mother fuckers who deal drugs and run a sex ring. I doubt they'll be _protecting_ women. Making my way over to the woman, I slide up next to her and put my arm around her shoulder. "Are you fools trying to hit on my wife?" I feel the girl stiffen beside me. I lean down to her ear and whisper, "Play along, okay? You don't want to go with that group. They're reeaally bad news, trust me." To them, it would seem like I'm just giving her a kiss on the side of her head and lingering.

"Sugar, where on earth have you been? I was lookin' all over for ya baby," the woman says with a southern accent and a wink.

Smirking, I turn my face to hers and pretend to whisper, but making sure I'm loud enough for the men to hear. "I was getting our room ready for tonight, honey. It's about time I show my wonderful wife how much she deserves to be cherished." I nip at her ear to add effect. "I have so many things I plan on doing to you. You'll be screaming my name all night." She turned about fifty shades of red at the suggestion.

It was perfect, the men would assume she was embarrassed to have them hear about our sex life . I lock eyes with them and see the shocked expression on their faces. And if they weren't convinced yet to leave us alone, her next comment sealed the deal.

"That sounds real good, husband o' mine, but you'd best be careful; I don't want any harm ta come to our baby now, ya hear?" For added effect, she rubbed her stomach lovingly. The men look from her abdomen to us, to each other before turning with a shrug and abruptly walking away.

I sigh in relief and relax. The woman slaps my arm making me laugh. "What?"

"What was that all about?" She demands.

"Oh, well you see. If you agreed to go with them, I'm pretty sure you would have signed your life away to the Dark Kings. They are a drug gang who also run a sex trafficking ring. I'm sure they wouldn't be _protecting_ you during this apocalypse-"

"Apocalypse? Like zombies?" She asks with wide-eyes.

"Yes," I say slowly, trying to gage her reaction.

Rose stares at me for a second, pulls out her phone, checks something on there before paying attention to me again. "Zombies huh? Well shit, I guess _that_ explains it…" She says, more to herself than to me.

"Riiight. Anyway, my cousins are making their way from Seattle where one of them witnessed zombies attacking people. They should be here in a couple days or so. Would you like to stay with me? I can protect you." I tell her with a bright smile.

The woman looks me over. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to stay with a group. My twin brother texted me this morning and told me he was heading this way with his girlfriend in the morning. I guess that explains his urgency to come here. They are coming from Idaho. We can keep an eye out in town for them, right?"

"I'm pretty sure we can, blondie. They should arrive around the same time my cousins do. Maybe a few hours to a day apart. Either way, we can keep an eye out..." I stop short when I hear a groaning and notice a woman limping and coming our way. "Hurry, let's get out of here. We need to head back to my hotel room, it isn't safe on the streets." I place my hand on her back and lead her to the Magnolia.

"My name is Rosalie, by the way. Rosalie Whitlock. You can just call me Rose."

 _Hmm, Rose. What a beautiful name for a gorgeous girl. I wonder if she'll need a man to lean on. I'd definitely like to lean_ her _up against a wall and... shit!_ I can't be thinking about this kind of stuff right now. Standing up a bit straighter, I inform her, "My name is Emmett McCarty." I open the hotel door and hold it open for her to walk through. As I shut the door behind me, I hear a bang and the door rattles. I look up quickly and see two couples pleading with their eyes to let them in. I glance over them quickly to make sure there isn't any bite marks and open the door. They rush in, panting. I close the door and lock it.

Rose moves forward and throws her arms around a girl with brown hair. "Angie! You're okay!" She cries out.

The girl wraps her arms around Rose. "I'm alive, but I'm _not_ okay. One of those _things_ attacked my parents at dinner tonight! I couldn't save my brothers! Ben barely got me out." The girl, Angie, breaks out into sobs.

I look around the hotel lobby and notice no one else is here. Everyone probably decided to scatter when everything turned to shit. "Okay, what we need to do is lock this place down really well. There are two emergency exits at this hotel and a back door for the kitchen staff. So, we need you two," I point to Angie and the guy standing next to her, "to lock and secure the emergency door in the right wing. While you two," I point to the other couple who I have no clue what their names are, "to lock and secure the doors in the right wing. Rosalie and I will go make sure the kitchen's back door is locked and secured. This front door should hold until we get back and move some furniture in front of it. Everyone okay with their jobs?"

"Yes," everyone mumbles.

"Alright. Let's do this." I grab Rosalie's hand and guide her to the kitchen.

When we go inside, the room is messy. Lights are still on, the stove and oven are still on, and there are utensils thrown all over the place. It's as if everyone left in a rush. First, I go to the stove and oven and shut them off. Looking inside the oven, I notice there is a pot roast. I pick a piece off and inspect it. _Fully cooked, nice!_ On top of the stove, there are two pots. One is filled with vegetables. _Steamed._ This is the room service special for the night. The other pot has potatoes. _Possibly for mashed potatoes?_ Next to the stove, I notice a piece of paper that has the order and the room number. _310\. Third floor; room ten. When we search the floors I'll keep an eye out. They would be my neighbor across the hall._

I go to the door and turn the notch, so it locks. I begin moving the shelves that hold the staff's equipment in front of the door. Rose gathers pots and pans and hangs them off the shelf. "Good thinking. It will alert us if anyone is trying to get in through here. Grab a couple more, we can use it on the front door." Rose nods as she gathers more pots and pans. I switch the lights off as we head back to the lobby.

We're the first ones back, so Rose and I place the pans on the check-in desk. We begin gathering the furniture from the lobby and stacking it in front of the doors. Angie and her boyfriend, I think, come back to help us. When we believe we've done enough, Rose puts the pots and pans on the stack for the alarm. Smiling, I take a step back and appreciate our work. The other couple comes and joins us.

"The next thing we need to do is board up all the windows. The ceiling tiles in one of the conference rooms are removable, so we might as well use those, they'll be better than nothing. Hopefully, the janitor's closet has a toolbox with a nail gun. I'll round up those supplies and the rest of you can break down the tiles. Then we'll split into teams of two while we board them up." I suggest.

Heading into the supply closet, I find all that I hoped to find and more. There are actually two nail guns, four hammers, and plenty of nails. Each of us guys pound nails, then we'll reinforce them with the nail guns so they'll be doubly secure. And the ladies can hold the boards in place on the windows. I don't know if that's sexist, but at this point, I really don't care. We'll need all the muscles we can get for this job.

By the time I have everything we need set up, including the ladders to reach the higher windows, they have finished breaking down the ceiling tiles. I meet them all back at the first set of windows which Rose and I decide to work on, while the other two couples move to the windows on either side of ours.

It takes us a long time to do all of the windows on the first floor, but that is partly because we don't do a half ass job of it. By the time we finish, not only would a zombie not be very likely to get in, but no light will shine out to alert anyone that this place is occupied. That way, we won't have a million people beating our doors down to get in.

After we finish fortifying the main floor, we gather back in the lobby to discuss some things. "Alright, I think it's time we sit down and talk." I motion to a section of chairs in the corner of the lobby. Together, we move to the chairs and sit down. "My name is Emmett McCarty." I start, motioning for Rosalie to go next.

"My name is Rosalie Whitlock." Both Rose and I turn to look to our left at Angie and her friend.

"My name is Angela Webber and this is Ben Cheney, my boyfriend." I nod at the two and smile softly. Ben looks at the other couple cautiously.

"I'm Jessica and this is my wonderful boyfriend, Mike. He found us somewhere safe here with you guys. But we're still like, totally freaked out." The girl named Jessica says while chomping on gum. _That is going to get annoying. I hope she runs out of gum soon. Maybe we should seal off the hotel shop so she can't buy more._

Rubbing the back of my neck, I lean forward in my seat. "Alright, it's obvious the dead are coming back to life, which means we are dealing with zombies. Now, what we need to do is go into the kitchen and gather weapons like knives or poles of any sort. Then, we have to go through the hotel looking for anyone else that is here. If we find anyone, we will allow them to chose whether or not they want to join this group we've made.

If they wish to leave, we will allow them to do so. I will make sure I give them a weapon to take with them. There are only five floors, so we can all go to one floor at the same time, working our way upwards and knocking on all the doors. Everyone okay with this plan?" I rest my elbows on my knees and my my chin on top of my clasped hands waiting for a reply from my new group.

"I'm in," says Rose as she stands up.

Ben and Angela share a look between one another before standing up. "We're in too."

The last couple, Jessica and Mike, hesitate for a few minutes before standing. "Um, sure. I guess we're in. It will get done faster."

Smiling, I stand up beside Rose. "Let's go find us some weapons."

 **~*Before the Dawn*~**

When we got into the kitchen, Ben and Angela walked over to the back door. "This is a great barricade! Looks like people won't be getting in through these doors! Good job guys. You really secured us." Ben admits.

I nudge Rose which makes her smile. "Yeah, but it was practically all Emmett. He's got the muscles."

"No way, you get all the credit for coming up with the pots and pans!" I argue and she rolls her eyes. "Alright, let's start looking for our weapons."

I move around the kitchen opening drawers. After finding a few metal skewers, knives, and a heavy marble rolling pin, I think we're okay for a close combat situation. I was hoping there'd be more here, but it seems a lot was taken by the people who chose to leave already. As I look around at everyone, I realize this group probably won't do too well with close combat anyway. Tomorrow, I'll have to see if Ben will go with me on a run. We'll have to go get us some guns. Maybe those military guys got eaten by zombies and dropped their guns. Not that I would wish that on anybody.

After we gather everything we can use as weaponry, we don't actually have all that much. We have six knives, which means one for each of us. We also have three long skewers. We made sure Ben, Mike, and I had one of those. I don't like the idea of the girls having to kill anything, since it's dangerous to get that close, so I made sure they knew that. I told them to only use the knives if the zombie is about to attack them. Other than that, us guys will do the killing. "We need to check the rest of this hotel. I'm sure there has to be some scared people still here somewhere." I instruct as we head out of the kitchen.

Hearing screams from out in the street, Rose cringes into my side. I wrap an arm around her and squeeze. "It's okay. We're safe in here. I won't let any zombies, or anyone else get to you." I whisper to her. Next, I lead everyone to the staircase. Turning to the group, I ask, "Should we start on the fifth floor and make our way down? Or start on the first floor and go up from there?"

"I vote we start on the first floor. We have to go up to go back down. So, I think if we start down here and go up, then we can also board up the windows in the hotel rooms that we didn't do before. And then when we finish the fifth floor, we can go to the roof and look out at the city. Maybe we can get a good view of the landscape. Figure out other places we might have to check out," Ben spoke up.

Smiling, I use my free hand and pat his shoulder. "Good thinking. Anyone else disagree?" Mike and Jessica were sucking face. So, I didn't care what that they think. I glance at Angela and she shakes her head no. I look down at Rose and she looks up at me, shaking her head no. "Okay, first floor here we come." Clutching the knife in my freehand, I guide Rose and the others down the hallway.

"Okay, so the first thing we should do is find the maid's cart. It would probably have a master key to get into all the rooms. Once we have it, we can knock and call out to anyone who might be in the rooms and if they don't answer, we can let ourselves in. Be prepared though, especially on the first floor. We don't know if there could have been a breach anywhere yet or not." I warn them.

"Like, you mean, there could already be zombies in the hotel somewhere? What do I do if they touch me?" Jessica squeaks in a panic.

"Just, try not to let them." Rose answers. We really don't have time to field all of Jessica's litany of questions at the moment.

It doesn't take us long to find the cleaning staff's storage area. And sure enough, there is a master key. We split into two teams to make our way down either side of the hallway at once. Each of the couples is a team, with Rose on Ben's team, since Ben and Angela are far less likely to get us killed than Mike and Jessica who I place behind me, since they won't really be much help with this.

Pounding on the first door, I call out, "Excuse me, the city is in a state of emergency. We are sweeping the hotel for survivors. If anyone is inside, we need you to please come out or else we're coming in!" No answer. I use the master key and let us in. We find a lot of useful things like clothing and a full mini fridge. We don't find any people, or zombies, thankfully and we board up the windows so it stays that way. We write a summary of our findings on the door with a sharpie so we know this room has been checked and what supplies are in it. We can consolidate our findings once the hotel is secure.

The next five rooms on our side of the hall are the same story. Ben's team finds an elderly couple celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. After explaining the situation to them, they tell us that their kids are still in the city and are coming for them later in the day. They assure us they'll be going somewhere safe and are grateful when we offer to send them with some supplies.

After the first floor has been checked, we head to the second. This time, it's our side of the hall that yields an interesting find. So far, no zombies, but we do find a pretty crazy guy, spouting about how the end is nigh and he has to go kill all the zombies so that he can be the new Adam, or something. I don't know but I think he was slightly more worrisome to us than the zombies at this point. We happily sent him on his merry way and he refused our offer of supplies saying the Lord would provide.

It really reminded me of that joke where the guy is stuck in a flood and a jeep pulls up to rescue him and he says "No thanks, the Lord will save me". Then as the waters raise, a boat comes by and again the guy says, "No thanks, God will save me". Eventually the waters rise so high that he has to climb up on his roof. But a helicopter comes and he says "Thanks but no thanks, the Lord is coming to save me." No one else comes and he dies in the flood, but he gets to heaven and says "God, I waited and waited but you didn't come. I thought you were going to save me?" And God says, "Look, I sent you a jeep, a raft and a helicopter, what more could you possibly want from me?" Sometimes, all God wants us to do is save ourselves.

We head up to the third floor after dealing with the crazy guy, and I can't help but glance out the window at the top of the stairs. I can see all kinds of people in the streets. Most of them are covered in blood and reaching for other people. Safe to say, they are zombies. However, I notice only some of the living people are fighting back. Others just seemed to have given up and allowed the zombies to attack them. I grimace when I hear the blood curling screams from those people. _Mother fuckers. How can someone just give up like that?_

While we search the third floor, we don't find much until we get close to my hotel room. The room service order from before reminds me that I was going to keep an eye out for these people. I wonder if they're still here. "Excuse me, the hotel is in a state of emergency, we are sweeping the floors checking for anyone who is still here. We can help you if you come on out. We have supplies and anything else you might need." I call as I knock on their door.

A woman with long chestnut brown, curly hair and blue violet eyes cautiously opens the door, leaving the privacy latch closed. When she sees that our somewhat organized group includes both men and women and that we all look relatively harmless, she opens the door the rest of the way. When she does, I see a scared little girl with strawberry blonde hair, crying and watching out the window.

"Ma'am, all due respect but are you sure it's a good idea to let her see what's going on down there? Won't it traumatize her, or something?" I didn't know much about children but I was pretty sure that watching the zombies tear people apart wasn't good for their development process.

"I don't want her to look but I can't tear her away from the window it's the only thing that seems to be helping. When I make her come away from there all she does is scream loudly about how she wants her daddy. I can't have those screaming anymore so I let her look out the window instead. I don't know what else to do. My husband was out getting pizza when the soldiers came. He texted us to get ready and go with the soldiers saying that it was our best bet and might be our only chance to get out of here. But my phone glitched and I didn't get his text until after the soldiers had left, so I didn't know that he had gone with them until it was too late. I thought he was coming back. When I finally got his text, I didn't know what to do. So we've just been laying low here ever since." She confessed, tears trying to escape from her tired eyes.

"You know what I think?" Rose smiled. Ben's group had come over while I was talking to the woman. I think you need a break. How's about I take you and your daughter downstairs and get you both something to eat, then you can put your feet up while your little angel here teaches me how to play Go Fish, it's been a while and I could use a refresher. What do you say?" Rose encourages.

"Yes, I think that might be just what the doctor ordered. What do say, Iris? Think you might be getting hungry?" She asked her little girl, crouching down to her level.

"Is Daddy comin'?" Iris asked, as her mother took her hand and led her away from the window.

"Not here, baby, I think we have to go to him."

 **~*Before the Dawn*~**

After Rose takes the woman, whose name we learned was Heather, and the little girl, Iris downstairs, the rest of us finish clearing the third floor and move on to the fourth. Upon arriving on the fourth floor, we hear loud moaning coming from one of the nearby rooms.

"Oh shit!" Jessica whispers, "Do you guys think it's a zombie?"

I can't help but laugh. "Not unless it's a zombie having sex, Jessica." Mike says, clearly amused by his girlfriend's innocence.

"Oh. Yeah, no, I knew that." She nods, trying to cover her mistake.

"Excuse me folks, I hate to bother you here, but we are in a state of emergency. This hotel is currently being swept for survivors. If you wouldn't mind taking a few minutes to come out and meet us, after that you can return to your preferred activities if you wish to stay. We are doing our best to fortify this hotel against the invasion, so it should be safe, at least for a while." I say, knowing from personal experience how annoying it is to be interrupted during the act.

The door opens and a tall man, who did not take the time to get dressed first, steps out into the hallway. "Survivors? Survivors of what? What's this about an invasion? Oh shit, is it aliens? I knew those little green fuckers would show up sometime, I just knew it. Honey, didn't I tell you?" He calls, to a girl who comes up to stand beside him, also buck naked.

"Um, Sir, not to be rude, but would you please put some clothes on? Both of you. We'd like to discuss whether or not you plan to stay and it's a little hard to know where to look." I say awkwardly.

"Alright, that's fine. Give us a few minutes and we'll meet you downstairs. Actually, give us about a half an hour, we'd better shower first. There was some food play and my girlfriend is a little sticky." He says, holding up a bottle of chocolate syrup to illustrate his point.

Jessica rolls her eyes, apparently this one didn't go over her head, and Mike stifles a giggle, very manly. "No problem, we'll meet you both in the lobby in a half hour then, thank you sir." The words barely out of my mouth when he closes the door on us. I turn to the rest of our group with a smirk. "How much do you wanna bet they'll make time for another round in the shower first?"

Rose, smacks my arm, somewhat lightly as we finish clearing the fourth floor. "What? It's true." I defend.

Finding no other guests on the floor, we quickly list off the supplies of for each room on the doors and head up to the fifth, and final floor. After clearing several more rooms, Ben's group finds a young woman, who answers the door in spanx and a sports bra and chastises us for interrupting her workout. Eventually she also agrees to meet us downstairs to talk. We clear the rest of the fifth floor and take the stairs back down.

After a rather amusing conversation with the workout wonder and the sex twins, which we've all so affectionately dubbed them; it is decided that all three of them want to stay in the hotel. Rosalie informs us that the elderly couple have been picked up by their son while we were sweeping the upper floors, and Iris has settled down and is asleep in Heather's lap. They will be leaving as soon as they are able to procure viable transportation, which Rose has agreed to work on for them as soon as it is light out, since it's too late in the day to venture out now.

Everyone decides to share space in the lobby to sleep, believing there to be safety in numbers. After bringing in blankets and pillows from the hotel's clean linen supply, everyone gradually falls asleep, except for me, since I agree to take first watch. Rose is the last one to lose consciousness and as she nods off, she smiles at me and whispers, "Thank you, Emmett." I don't have to ask her for what.

 **~*Before the Dawn*~**

Morning dawns early for those of us who didn't get much sleep last night and thankfully, some wonderful soul thought to put coffee on. Once I get a few cups into me and I'm feeling borderline coherent, I offer to go with Rose in search of a ride for Heather and Iris. Not just any old car will do. We want them to be safe, so it has to be a reliable, sturdy vehicle with solid walls. Something like a charter bus would be good in that respect because the windows are high up and tinted. But those things eat fuel like crazy and finding one nearby would be a long shot.

As we venture out the front doors, Rose and I move silently and quickly, looking over all the dead vehicles we see at the sides of the road. Rose assures me her mechanical skills rival most dealerships, since she used to work for her daddy's shop. So she tells me to look for a vehicle that will fit their needs and she is sure that whatever it is, she can get it running.

"Oh shit! How about this? Think you can get one of these running?" I ask, in jest, gazing at a broken down tank the military must have abandoned. It must have been in pretty bad shape for them to leave it, these things are like a fortune! Obviously Rose can't fix this. I'm sure they have specially trained mechanics who work on their equipment, so I expect her to keep moving or make a snide remark. Instead, she starts examining it.

"You know, I can probably get it running. They evacuated in a hurry, right? So most likely, anything that would have taken time to fix, they would have just considered it a write off. There may not be anything too seriously wrong with it. But I'll need to talk to Heather and see if there's any point. It's possible she wouldn't feel comfortable driving one, and I'm not sure how different it is from driving a car." Rose speculates.

"Alright, well, let's go talk to her then." I say, wanting to get out of the area, since some zombies nearby seem to have noticed us. We hightail it back inside, before any of them can get close, and seal the door again behind us. The entrance we've chosen to use for coming and going, is not visible from the street, so we should be pretty safe getting in and out. It'll just be while Rose is working on the tank that we'll be vulnerable.

"So, Heather, we might have found you a vehicle, if you want it. It's the safest thing you could possibly leave here in and I think I can get it up and running. The only problem is; it's a tank." Rose informs her.

Heather seems to think for a minute, "Okay, so what's the problem? That actually sounds perfect!"

"So, you think you could figure it out, or at least the basics, if I can get it running?" Rose confirms.

"What's there to figure out? I was in the Reserves before I had Iris, I've driven a tank before." She says proudly.

I'm a little stunned by that revelation. Little Heather, a petite brunette woman, isn't what I would stereotypically think of when describing someone with a military background, but hey, I guess you just can't judge a book by its cover.

"Alright, well if you know something about tanks Heather, how about you and Rose work on it together and I'll spot you to make sure you don't get eaten?" I offer.

Rose laughs and rolls her eyes. "How heroic of you, King Kong." She teases.

"Yeah, yeah, you just wait, you won't be taking it so lightly when I'm the only thing separating you from becoming zombie chow, you know." I humph.

"Well, let me thank you in advance then." Rose smiles, giving me a peck on the cheek.

 _Damn, wasn't expecting that!_

"Uh, thanks, um, I mean, you're welcome." _Smooth, Em, real smooth!_ I mentally chastise myself as we gather the necessary tools and let the others know we're going back out there.

Four hours and a few close calls later, Rose tests the engine and it runs like a dream! We take Heather back inside and help her gather her's and Iris's things as well as plenty of food and a few other essentials for their journey. We also give them a sturdy metal broom handle that Heather can use for protection if she has to get out of the tank for any reason.

After a series of heartfelt goodbyes, since no one has any idea if we'll ever see them again, Heather and Iris set off on their Journey and the rest of us set about making dinner and trying to use up some of the perishables. We also dip into the hotel liquor supply and have ourselves a bit of a party. I get another kiss from Rosalie and this one is not on the cheek.

Starting tomorrow, I will have to begin checking the bowling alley as a secondary safe place for my cousins, just in case. I tell Rose this and she offers to accompany me when I do these checks. I also suggest to her that she can let her brother know about the bowling alley too, since they're heading to town soon also. That way, if the hotel is breached, our loved ones still have a safe place to land.

 *******Meet the Characters*******

Name: Emmett McCarty

Age: 23

Likes: Video games, cars, and snowboarding

Education: Video Game Design Degree (Bachelor's)

Relationship Status: Single but hoping for a chance with the sexy blonde Rosalie

Current turn on: Blondes

Current turn off: A girl who only eats rabbit food

Height: 6'5"

Weight: 225 lbs

Size: 36x40

Currently: In awe with Rose

 **~*Before the Dawn*~**

Name: Rosalie Whitlock

Age: 21

Likes: Shopping and cars

Education: Junior in College

Relationship Status: Single not really looking to mingle

Current turn on: Muscles

Current turn off: Stupidity

Height: 5'3"

Weight: 110

Size: 1

Currently: Excited about fixing a tank

 **~*Before the Dawn*~**

Name: Angela Webber

Age: 19

Likes: Photography and swimming

Education: Freshman in College

Relationship Status: In a relationship with Ben Cheney

Current turn on: Funny guys

Current turn off: Someone who can't hold a conversation

Height: 5'3"

Weight: 127 lbs

Size: 3

Currently: Upset about family

 **~*Before the Dawn*~**

Name: Ben Cheney

Age: 19

Likes: Chess and DJing

Education: Freshman in College

Relationship Status: In a relationship with Angela Webber

Current turn on: Nerdy glasses type

Current turn off: Dumb blondes

Height: 5'10"

Weight: 131 lbs

Size: 28x30

Currently: Worried about girlfriend

 **~*Before the Dawn*~**

Name: Jessica Stanley

Age: 18

Likes: Shopping, cheerleading, and gossip

Education: Senior in High School

Relationship Status: In a relationship with Mike Newton

Current turn on: Jocks

Current turn off: Smokers

Height: 5'5"

Weight: 130 lbs

Size: Squeezes into a size 3 but is really a 4

Currently: Wanting more gum

 **~*Before the Dawn*~**

Name: Mike Newton

Age: 18

Likes: Football and sex

Education: Senior in High School

Relationship Status: In a relationship with Jessica Stanley

Current turn on: Blondes

Current turn off: Someone who can't give good head

Height: 5'7"

Weight: 154 lbs

Size: 30x30

Currently: Wants sex


	7. Who's Got My Back?

*WARNING* This is rated M for Mature. There will be violent and graphic scenes as well as some scenes of sex. I do not advise anyone under 18 to read this. You choose to read this at your own risk. If anything about this story bothers you, I suggest putting it down.

*Disclaimer* Twilight's character's belong to Stephenie Meyer. The story line belongs to Bella Marie Whitlock and I.

 _Hey, guys! So, I've forgot to mention that I have a trip coming up (or I have and I've just forgotten). But anyway, I have a camping trip come June 5th - June 12th. I will have my macbook with me because I have homework to do, so when I get a chance I will write for my stories! I plan on writing a lot before the 5th, so I have some extra chapters to fall back on to post, if I cannot write. My co-writer will be able to do a lot of editing or writing while I'm away as well. Anyhow, I hope everyone is enjoying the story!_

 _Don't forget to_ _review!_ _Reviewing helps me become a better writer. I like both encouraging and criticizing reviews!_

 **Chapter 7 - Who's Got My Back?**

 **Bella's POV**

I hear some terrible country song and it starts to pull me back to consciousness. Disoriented, I look around trying to get my bearings. _Where the hell am I? Oh yeah, right! Alice and Jasper. Wait… Alice and Jasper!? Fuck, I fell asleep! Dammit, where's Maddie!?_

Frantically, I unfasten the seat belt which someone has kindly, or not so kindly if they did it to restrain me, put on for me. Seeing Alice and Jasper outside of the truck, I open the cab door behind the driver's seat and slide out quietly. I quickly stretch my legs and take in my surroundings. Not seeing Maddie, I move to the back of the truck to open the hatch

I launch myself through the open tailgate and into the back of the truck. I start sifting through a pile of blankets looking for my sister. Finally, I find the little lump that is her. She is breathing regularly and her cheeks are a sleepy pink hue that is a sight for sore eyes. She is fine!

Nudging Maddie's leg, she wakes up. She rubs her eyes and looks up at me sleepily. I hold my hand out for a sleepy Maddie and she takes it. Maddie hops down and twirls with the blanket still wrapped around her. She flitters over to Alice and holds her hand out. It's a signal that she wants to be held. Alice happily picks her up.

I grab a few food items from my suitcase in the back. Jasper sees what all I am carrying and steps forward. "Would you like me to start a fire, Ma'am?"

"Um, yes, please." I watch as Jasper easily gathers a few pieces of wood and stacks them. He takes two sticks and rubs them together to create friction. "I, uh, have a lighter," I mention.

Jasper looks up with a smile. "It's alright. I don't need it. I was taught how to make a fire growing up on my family farm. Let's save the lighter for emergencies. For example, say it's rainin'. It's gonna be hard to start a fire this way with wet wood. So, we can use the lighter then."

"That makes sense," I admit. I pay close attention to how Jasper is doing it. He has a thick stick laying flat on the ground with the exposed side up. Another stick, is standing upright on the flat stick, in a divot and the top of it is held between Jasper's hands. Rubbing his hands back and forth, like someone would do if it's cold outside and they are warming their hands, he rubs them against one another. I watch, amazed to see some smoke coming up! Jasper then takes some dry brown leaves and places them over the smoke and blows. I'm shocked as they catch fire and heat up the pile of sticks beneath. Why didn't my father teach me this?

Holding the pot over the small fire Jasper has whipped up, I heat some beans and corn. When they are warm, I distribute the beans and corn between Alice, Jasper and I. I then open a can of peaches for Maddie to eat, since she's in a 'vegetables are yucky' phase. As we are eating, I watch as Alice and Maddie begin talking and giggling about the clothes they are wearing. I stare in awe at the two; they get along so well. Maybe this will be a good group to stick with. They seem pretty nice from what I gathered yesterday. I think back to the beginning of our time in the truck.

" _So, guys, how about a rousing game of twenty questions?"_

 _A startled gasp makes me smile. "Bella!" Alice chokes out. "Don't do that! I'm driving. You scared me half to death, sweetie!" I watch as she places her hand over her heart._

 _I turn to Jasper and calculate his expression. He looks startled too but also seems amused. I look back at Alice. "I'm sorry. I assumed you saw me climbing through the window in your rearview mirror."_

 _Shaking her head, she tells me, "Sheesh Bella, I was focused on the road ahead of me while I was talking to Jazzy, agh!" I see through the mirror she is rolling her eyes, but a small smile is gracing her face. "Just don't do that again, please?"_

" _Okay," I surrender, palms up, and lean back in my seat._

" _Now about this game of twenty questions… how does that work exactly?" Jasper inquires._

 _It's my turn to gasp. "What? Have you never done twenty questions before?" I ask with my eyebrows raised. Jasper turns in his seat to look at me and shakes his head no. "Oh my. Well, we take turns asking each other questions to get to know one another. The person who asks the question, also has to answer to their own question, as well as the person they ask. You only have one opportunity to skip a question, so, choose carefully. Yeah, um, that's pretty much it."_

" _I see. So, I can ask you how old you are, right? That's acceptable as far as getting to know you?"_

 _Laughing, I answer, "Yes, you can ask that, and I will answer. I am twenty."_

" _Oh! So, you are Alice's age then. I am twenty-one."_

 _Twenty-one, wow! He's such a gentleman for someone young. I would have thought he was at least twenty-three or something. "Oh, I almost forgot. My sister, Maddie, is three. Her fourth birthday is in a month. So, I'd really appreciate it if we can keep our filters on around her. Little kids are great at repeating what they hear. And I don't want her to see us killing zombies. So, please," I beg, "Try to make sure she isn't looking if you have to kill one when she's nearby."_

" _We can surely try. I wouldn't want her to be scarred with that horror," Jasper agrees to my terms._

 _I sigh in relief. "Thanks."_

 _We go back and forth asking questions for a while. I learn that he is an animal lover but mainly loves horses. He likes to ride bareback in his spare time. Jasper also likes to go camping with his family, something we have in common. He absolutely hates rap music but loves country._

 _Alice loves shopping for herself and other people. She likes to call it 'Barbie Time'. She is more of a kitten type person, but would never turn a pet away if Jasper wanted it. Alice said she doesn't like camping because of the bugs, but says now she has to suck it up._

 _Alice and Jasper learn that I love to play video games or read whenever I have the time. I tell them that I love dogs, but could never have one because my mother was allergic. Jasper is ecstatic when he finds out I love camping and learned a lot from my father. I tell Jasper that I have to agree with his opinion on rap music and express to him my love for classical music and classic rock. The question I ask next, makes me wish I never asked it. I never knew that Jasper could talk so much and so_ passionately _!_

" _Well, what were you studying in college?" I ask curiously._

 _A huge grin falls upon his face and a groan comes from Alice. Confused, I turn my attention to her. "You've done it now," she complains._

" _I've done what?"_

 _Alice opens her mouth to tell me. Jasper, however, begins talking before she can clarify. "I'm studying History. I love history. I really enjoy the Civil war Era. I do a lot of war reenactments with a bunch of people from college. Well, I guess you can say, did. I don't see us doing any more of them, anytime in the near future. Anyway, I wanted to know everything about history because I wanted to be a high school teacher after I graduated…"_

 _I remember listening to Jasper drone on and on before Alice cuts him off to tell me about her career that she was chasing after. I guess it isn't long after that, I fall asleep._

"Hey, Jasper?" I ask, as I finish my last bite of my breakfast, dragging myself out of memories of yesterday and back to the present.

Jasper looks up from watching his girlfriend interact with my sister. "Yes, Ma'am?"

"I was just remembering something from our discussion last night. Remember when you talked about your reenactments?"

His eyes light up. "Yes! People think reenactments are ridiculous. But they are actually very historical-"

I cut him off, putting a hand up. "I don't actually want to learn more just now, I had a personal question."

"Oh," he says, a little but sad.

"You can tell me another time though, okay?" I tell him, trying to cheer him up. When he nods, I continue my thought. "When you were reenacting, did you ever learn to shoot a real gun?"

I watch as Jasper looks over at Alice and smiles softly. "Yeah, I learned. Much to Alice's dismay. But I guess, now that I think about it, I'm grateful I learned. Once I find a gun, it'll be easier than fighting melee with an axe."

Thank God! He knows how to shoot. I hope I can trust him with the pistol I'm about to give him. I wonder if he's fired a pistol before. Standing up, I go to the truck and look for my backpack. I can feel Jasper watching me curiously. Pulling out one of the pistols I don't remember the name of, I place it on the tailgate and rummage through my backpack for it's ammo. Once I find the right ammo, I release the magazine of the pistol and begin loading the bullets into it. After the seventh bullet is in, I put the pistol back together, cocking the gun to make sure it's loaded. When the top of the gun is pulled back, for that split second, I see the bullet slide into the chamber. I put the safety on and walk towards Jasper.

"That's the M1911!" Jasper exclaims in awe as I stop beside him.

"This?" I ask as I look down at the pistol in my hand. "Is that it's name? I knew it looked familiar! It was in freaking _Black Ops One_!"

"I'm sorry? _Black Ops One_?"

Oh. I forgot he's a country boy. I wonder if he ever played video games or has even seen one. " _Black Ops On_ e is a video game I use to play. When you play the game mode _Zombies_ , you start off with the M1911 pistol!"

"That's neat. How do you happen to have one, though? My neighbor back in Texas has one. We used to go shooting with it all the time!"

This is absolutely perfect! He already knows his way around this gun. "My father used to collect guns, he was a gun enthusiast. My mother sold some of his guns to pay for his funeral when he passed away. But the guns that she kept, I have them all with me." I stretch my hand out, holding the gun out to Jasper. "I want you to use it. We cannot rely solely on me shooting and you using an axe"

Jasper stares at me in shock and awe. "You're… letting me… _use_ it?" He asks slowly, taking the gun into his own hands. He turns it over repeatedly, gazing at it in all its glory.

Nodding, I smile. "Yes. I trust you from what I've learned of you so far," I pause. "But, I do ask one thing," I say with pleading eyes. Jasper motions for me to continue. "When you don't wish to use it anymore, can you please return it to me. I don't care if it doesn't have any more ammo by then. It's just… It was my father's, you know?"

"I understand, Bella. I would never get rid of it without offering it back to you."

"Thank you," I say softly. "Also, I was wondering if we can stop in Boise, it's a bigger city, so I think they have a Cabela's. You know, the outdoorsman store,"

"What a wonderful idea!" Alice says as she bounds up next to us holding Maddie's hand. "We can shop for new clothes!"

I roll my eyes at Alice's logic. "I don't want to go there for the clothes, although I must admit they do have really cool camo. We need many of the _other_ things that Cabela's has. They have ammo and guns. We can add to our small collection. They also have those dried packets of food, we could use some more of those. There are also multiple types of knives there, like a bowie knife or a machete. We can pick up sleeping bags because they have the ones that keep you warm in zero degree weather. Which will definitely come in handy for winter. We can also grab two fishing poles, so we can fish if we run out of the dry meals in the future. It adds options to what we can eat. And we will want to get some Walkie Talkies for if we have to separate for any reason."

I sit on the ground and Maddie immediately lets go of Alice's hand, skipping over to me. I open my arms wide to gather her up in my arms as she sits on my lap. Giving her a slight squeeze and a kiss on the top of her head, I keep her encased in my arms. "Bella has a point," Jasper defends. "If you wanna get clothes while we shop there, darlin', you may. We just need to get some other, more important items. And that will be our priority. So, there won't be any 'Barbie Time'. You can do your shopping _after_ we get what we truly need. That way we all stay together. Safety in numbers, alright?"

Pouting, Alice sits on the ground with a nod and a very undignified 'hmpf'. Maddie giggles at Alice's antics. "Fiiine. But Bella has to promise to let me pick her out at least _one_ outfit."

"Darlin', what'd I say? No 'Barbie Time'."

"I know! And that's fine. Bella won't have to _try on_ the outfit like I make most of my barbie's do. She just needs to tell me her size and I will pick it out."

Jasper turns to me with questioning eyes. Alice has her hands clasped in front of her and some sort of puppy dog eyes going. "I don't-" Alice lets out a small whimper and her eyes tear up. _Fuck!_ "Okay," I say defeatedly, lowering my head behind Maddie.

Alice squeals. Loudly.

"Alice!" Jasper hisses in warning.

"Sorry!" She apologizes.

"We should begin headin' out again. Bella? You okay to drive while Alice and I get some sleep?" Jasper questions while holding his hand out to Alice. I watch as she takes it and he helps her to her feet. Such the southern gentleman.

"Yeah, I can do that. I need to make sure Maddie sits in the back seat and.. Shit!" I curse as I suddenly remember something and spring to my feet. I bring my hands to my head and pull at my hair as I pace. "I forgot to bring Maddie's booster seat! I never brought it with us when we ran out of gas because we were going to be walking. I thought I wouldn't be driving again!" _Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!_

"Hey, hey now," Jasper says as he takes ahold of my shoulders and stops my pacing. "It's okay. You're a good driver, right?" I nod my head. "Good. Then that means we will be safe. We'll just have Maddie sit on top of a folded blanket and her pillow. Then we can still secure her in with the seatbelt. It'll be like a makeshift booster seat. That sound okay to ya?"

"I- yeah, I guess it does,"

I feel a tug at my jacket and look down to find Maddie with her thumb in her mouth. She holds her arms out, so I pick her up. "Sissy, you say no-no word," she reminds me.

"I know, I'm so sorry, Mads," I apologize.

As Jasper and I clean up around our little makeshift rest stop, Alice offers to get Maddie buckled into the backseat. I shake out the blanket Maddie wore out of the truck, while Jasper puts out the small fire. I fold the blanket and hand it off to Alice. She takes Maddie's free hand and skips with her over to the passenger side of the truck. I watch as she opens the back door of the truck and gets Maddie situated. I pick up the cans and place them by a tree and cover them with leaves. When I finish, I head over to wait at the back of the truck, so I can let Alice and Jasper into the bed and close it behind them. After Alice has Maddie secure and Jasper makes sure the fire is out, they join me there. I pull the tailgate down for them and watch as they both climb into the back of the truck. They snuggle up against each other, as I shut the tailgate and head for the driver's seat. Once I'm in, I buckle myself in and start the truck.

*****Meet the Characters*****

None at the moment :)


	8. Loaded Weapons

*WARNING* This is rated M for Mature. There will be violent and graphic scenes as well as some scenes of sex. I do not advise anyone under 18 to read this. You choose to read this at your own risk. If anything about this story bothers you, I suggest putting it down.

*Disclaimer* Twilight's character's belong to Stephenie Meyer. The story line belongs to Bella Marie Whitlock and I.

 _Hey my lovely readers! I hope the story is going the way everyone likes. If you don't like it, I'm sorry your disappointed. But you don't have to read ;). Anyhow, I'm so excited for my upcoming trip that I've written a lot to fall back on! I also have been cleaning like a madwoman because of my friends who are coming out of town for this trip. But, I promise not to neglect you guys and I_ _will_ _keep posting while on my trip._

 _Also, check out the bottom! There are some new characters to meet and I'm going to play a little game with everyone!_

 _Don't forget to review! I love every type of review I get whether it's criticism or praise. Both makes me a better writer!_

 **Chapter 8 - Loaded Weapons**

Passing by the 'Welcome to Boise' sign, I smile softly. It took us about two and a half hours on the back roads to get here from Cascade. Now all we have to do is go Southeast out of Idaho into Wyoming. We'll be on the Southwest edge of Wyoming's border; which is perfect, because then we can we drive into Colorado and get to Denver in two days. I think Emmett once told me it takes twelve hours from Boise to Denver, driving the highway. However, if you fly, it's only an hour and twenty minutes. So for us, if everything goes well, we should only arrive a day later than when I told Emmett we would.

I turn down my music. "Hey Jasper, Alice," I say loudly from the front. I look in the rear view mirror and see two heads pop up and stretch.

"Yes, Bella?" Jasper asks sleepily as he opens the window.

"We're in Boise now. We should be at Cabela's in a few minutes."

Yawning, Jasper leans his arm on the open window. "Thanks. We're just gonna have some of our granola bars. You want one?"

My stomach growls, but I ignore it. "No thank you. But if you could grab a Pop Tart out of our box, the one with the cans in it, I'll take one of those for my sister. I'll grab one myself when we get to Cabela's and eat while we shop."

"Sure thing," he says as he disappears from the window. I assume he is crouched down grabbing the food out. I glance at Maddie and see her coloring in peace. A moment later, Jasper is leaning through the window holding out a Pop Tart to Maddie. "Here you go, lil' missy." Happily, Maddie takes it and starts munching on the sugary snack.

When I pull up to Cabela's, I notice there are a few other cars in the parking lot. Other than that, it's practically deserted. I hope there aren't too many zombies inside. Parking by the main entrance, I shut off the engine and step out. I go to the back and let Alice and Jasper out. "Hey Jasper, do you mind coming in with me first to check for zombies, while Alice and Maddie wait in the safety of the truck?"

"Mighty fine idea." Jasper nods, turning to Alice. "You'll stay in the truck for a few minutes and keep the girl safe for us, darlin'?"

"Of course!" Alice exclaims as she stands on her tiptoes to kiss Jasper on the lips. Then she turns on her heels and opens the back door of the cab to slide in next to Maddie.

I take my Beretta out of my waistband and hand the truck keys to Alice. Jasper goes to the back and grabs his axe and the M1911. When he strolls up next to me, he nods. We go to the front door and head inside.

When we get inside, it is good to see that the lights are still on. That will make things a whole lot easier. Turning to Jasper I hold up two fingers and make a motion of splitting up. Nodding, we split off in separate directions. After a few minutes of making sure the place is clear, we meet back up at the front door.

"All clear on my side."

"Clear on mine, too." Jasper replies. "Let's bring them inside."

Walking out the front door, I notice Alice is watching through the windshield. As soon as she sees us, she is making her way out of the truck. Maddie slides out behind her. She runs over and launches herself at me. I quickly open my arms and catch her.

"Alright, let's get started on gathering our supplies."

When we go back into the store, I place Maddie in the top portion of the cart. Jasper grabs another cart and we begin walking up and down the aisles. The first aisle we come to is the food aisle. I start throwing dried food packets into the cart. There are a few buckets of dried food, but they would be too heavy to carry. Carrying these packets will be easier because they each serve two people and are much lighter than the buckets.

A few aisles down, we get to the aisle with Walkie Talkies. "Let's grab at least six of the two packs of these and extra batteries for them. Having the extras may come in handy."

"Good thinking," Jasper admits as he reaches for the Walkie Talkies. He grabs six packs and throws them in his cart.

Moving on, we come across the sleeping bags. I pull three double sleeping bags off the shelf and open the boxes up. I pull out each sleeping bag and throw it into the cart. These double sleeping bags can be split apart into two singles, which will help when we meet up with my cousin and Jasper's twin. They will each have their own sleeping bag, while Jasper and Alice will share one double; Maddie and I will share the other double.

In the back of the store, we find the aisles with the many different type of knives, or what I like to call silent, close combat weapons. I pick up the machetes and bowie knives off the shelf and stick them in the cart. Jasper grabs some different sized axes. I also noticed he picked up nunchucks. _Why in the world would we need those? Can we bash a zombie's head in with it?_

Since it's pretty picked over, I don't see anything else I might want, so I move along while Jasper grabs more weapons. I go into the next aisle over and grab us two fishing poles plus one of the kids Tinkerbell ones for Maddie to learn on. I only grab two of the adult rods, as my assumption is that Alice wouldn't fish.

I open a tackle box and start filling it with different things we will need for fishing. I throw in extra fishing line, weights, lures, bobbers, spoons and spinners, etc. and then make sure the rest is filled with the _Gulp!_ Bait packages. We can use them because it's easy and doesn't use up any of our food.

On a whim, I also grab a kit of those lures you make yourself with all the shiny bits and beads and feathers because it will be a practical craft that Maddie can learn to do when she's a bit older that gives her a way to contribute.

"Good thinking, Bella. Here, let me put that stuff in my cart." Jasper says, picking up the fishing gear and placing it all in his cart. He also adds a fish bonker thingy, a couple of high quality multi-tools, a set of fish knives and a net to the supplies I grabbed. I can see Alice scanning the clothing area.

"Just a little bit more to do, Alice. We need to get to the area in the back right corner. It's the area with all the guns, ammo, and attachments. It's like a separate little building inside the store. It's usually always locked even when the worker is in there," I tell her.

"Okay," she says simply.

When we get to the area for the guns, Jasper stops his cart and goes first. He reaches for the handle and jiggles it. "It's unlocked," he states, shooting me a look. I pull my Beretta from my waist and move next to him.

"Alice, watch Maddie," I whisper. Jasper slowly opens the door while I peek inside with my gun raised. The lights are off, so I feel along the wall and turn them on when I find the switch. Seeing that there is no one in the room, I relax. "Clear."

Jasper opens the door all the way and I grab the front of the cart Maddie is in and pull it into the room with me. Jasper pushes his cart along behind me while Alice walks beside him.

I stare in awe at all of the weapons left on the wall. Someone definitely came through here and took as much as he or she could. I move forward and reach for a gun that looks exactly like the Galil from _Black Ops One_. This is my favorite gun from that game! I hope it is just as good in real life.

I pull a bunch of pistols out of the cases and start looking for more ammo for all of the guns I have. Jasper, however, is trying to chose between two guns. "Just get them both, Jasper. Better they end up in our hands than with some nut job anyway. I've seen enough movies to know how that goes. Now come over here and grab the rest of the pistols. Pistols will be easier to use than a submachine gun and it will be faster reloading them. We need to grab some extra… aha!" I find the extra magazines for the guns. I start sorting out the ones I don't need. "Magazines! Here," I exclaim as I shove some in Jasper's hands.

After I pick out the guns, I move around the room and pick out a couple silencers for my guns. I mainly want a silencer for my rifle, so we can hunt animals for food without drawing the zombies' attention. But if I can get some for my pistols, that's great too! If we can be silent when killing zombies it would be ideal. And who thinks to take a silencer in the middle of the apocalypse?

Next, I look for a gun cleaning kit, because let's face it, I love the guns I brought from home and I love the ones I've just picked out. I don't want to have to get replacements in the future, so I have to keep them in tip top shape by keeping them clean and functioning.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Alice eyeing a pink katana. I watch as she picks it up and places it in Jasper's cart. "What's this?" Jasper asks.

"It's my new fashion statement! Just because we won't be wearing designer clothes, doesn't mean I can't still make a fashion statement _somehow_."

I roll my eyes and head to the front of the store. "Maddie, do you need to use the restroom before we look at clothes and go back to the truck?" She nods, so I lift her out of the seat. "Jasper, Alice, we are going to use the bathr..." I break off as I stare at the front doors. I see two young guys running quickly towards the store, _naked_. I shield Maddie's eyes and call frantically, "Alice! Jasper!"

Alice and Jasper come running out from the back room. Alice quickly takes Maddie for me while Jasper and I draw our pistols. Alice, while holding Maddie, backs up behind us. The guys come bursting through the front door panting. They stop and lean on each other, taking deep breaths. I raise my pistol and clear my throat. Their heads snap up along with their hands. "Woah! Woah! Please don't shoot!"

I lower my gun, but keep my finger hovering over the safety in case they become a threat. "Who are you? Why are you naked? And why are you here?" I interrogate.

Taking a few deep breaths, the taller of the two, motions to himself, "I'm Jacob Black and this," he motions to the other guy, "is my partner, Seth Clearwater. We are both seventeen and we're seniors in high school. We play Varsity football for the Wolves. Um, maybe you should take her out of earshot? She probably shouldn't hear this." He asks as he motions towards Maddie. I nod at Alice and motion her to the backroom.

Once Maddie is out of the room, I twitch my gun at the boys to indicate for them to continue. "After the outbreak, they bombed this area, as they did in all the affected cities. We became trapped in the high school with our teammates. We've been living off of the cafeteria food the past few days. Earlier today, these female prison inmates break into our school, okay, and they force us to our knees. They begin making everyone take off their clothes, _their freakin' clothes!_

After everyone's clothes are off and they tie us up, the inmates start taking the guys into the classrooms one by one. I hear a few guys screaming in protest. And I hear some of the others moaning in pleasure. So, you can guess what these inmates are doing with them. Well, I wasn't about to let my boyfriend and I get raped by these women, so I break loose from the ropes and untie the rest of the team. We start fighting back and while everyone is distracted with the fighting, Seth and I escaped. We ran here, hoping to find some clothes to wear," the one named Jacob finishes.

I look between Jacob and Seth. I can see the guilty expression on Seth's face at the idea of taking things from the store. Jacob is glancing caringly at Seth. It's obvious Jacob loves Seth. "You're welcome to take some clothes." I offer.

"And you can join our group!" Alice pipes up, coming back into the room with Maddie.

Both Jasper and I shoot her frantic look. _Is she crazy?_ "Uh, darlin', we don't-"

"Oh, hush, Jazzy. I have a good feeling about them joining us. We have enough room in the cab for them. We'll just have to figure out how to get everything into the vehicle."

I'm still staring at Alice in shock. _Does she really think this is a good idea?_ Alice shoots me a pointed look. I mean, on one hand I can see why she wants to bring them with us; they're just kids, still in high school. They can't be dangerous? Can they? _But wait… what am I thinking? They left their classmates behind to save their own skin. I have to worry about Maddie and her safety. I can't just go around trusting people who could turn on us at the first sign of trouble._

 _But it's Jasper's truck and Alice seems pretty set on having them along. I guess I'll just have to be on my guard until we know more about them. Nowadays, trusting anyone is a risk, but I suppose we'll never survive if we don't ally with other people who can help us._

I look to Jasper waiting to hear what he thinks. He catches my eye and smiles softly. "Um, well, I guess we can work somethin' out. How 'bout you gentlemen pick out some clothes while we pack everything into our truck?" Both Jacob and Seth nod as they go off in the direction of the clothing area. Alice starts to go with them, but Jasper shoots his arm out and catches her. I take Maddie from her arms and take her into the bathroom while they head out to the truck.

After Maddie does her business, she and I head outside. I hand her back to Alice who goes into the back seat with her. "Jasper?" I ask as I come to the back of the truck.

"Yes?"

"Do you think we should move the mattress to one side of the truck while everything else goes to the other side. I mean, it's a full mattress, so it's smaller than a queen and doesn't need to take up the whole back by being in the middle. What do you think?"

Jasper scratches the bottom of his chin as he looks at the back of the truck and the stuff we have in the carts. "Hmm, that's a good idea. Here, help me." He instructs as he jumps inside the bed of the truck and moves the top end of the mattress to the right side of the truck. I grab the bottom part and pull it over as well. Pushing everything that was already in the truck towards the back of the bed, Jasper and I start loading the new additions in with our other supplies.

Seth and Jacob come out of the store with fresh clothes and a good sized backpack each, I assume they are filled with more outfits, and hopefully some food so they don't end up eating all of ours. It seems they also found some suitable melee weapons, Jacob is holding a crowbar while Seth is holding a bat. "You guys clean up nice," I compliment, as I roll the sleeping bags up and toss them into the truck.

"Thanks. I'm glad to have some of that dirt off me. I was feeling so icky." Jacob grimaces, which morphs into a smile as he examines himself.

Seth is watching us curiously and finally asks after a minute, "Guys?" We turn our attention to him. "I'm just wondering why you are loading everything into the back of your truck when there is a perfectly good trailer on that truck over there." He points behind us.

I turn and am shocked to see the cargo trailer he is talking about. "Jasper, it's genius! We can carry even more supplies when we get the chance to stop at another store! Think about it!"

Jasper hums as he looks from the back of our truck to the trailer. "Yes, it should do nicely. I just hope it's an easy switch. An' I hope it'll still be easy enough to get in an' out of the truck bed." Jasper turns to Seth and Jacob. "Alright muscles, let's go get that trailer. Time to earn your keep."

*****Meet the Characters*****

Name: Jacob Black

Age: 17

Likes: Working on cars and Football

Education: Senior in High School

Relationship Status: In a Relationship with Seth Clearwater

Current turn on: When he sees Seth eating a banana

Current turn off: When someone uses the word 'fag'

Height: 6' 3"

Weight: 201 lbs

Size: 38x32

Currently: Sleeping in the back of the truck

 **~*Before the Dawn*~**

Name: Seth Clearwater

Age: 17

Likes: Football and Swimming

Education: Senior in High School

Relationship Status: In a Relationship with Jacob Black

Current turn on: Speedos

Current turn off: When a girl tries flirting w/ him when he's out with his partner

Height: 5' 10"

Weight: 193 lbs

Size: 36x30

Currently: Cuddled up next to Jacob in the back of the truck; not sleeping

 ****Prediction Time****

If you review with your answer and you get it right, I will PM you with a sneak peak of the next chapter! (It will probably be unedited but you will see the thought process!) I am only picking the first two people who guess right. If you get it right but you are not one of the first two people, I will still mention that you guessed right in the next chapter!

Q: What do you think happens in the next chapter?

 _A. The group comes across a wounded soldier and takes him in._

 _B. Zombies attack and takes a life._

 _C. The group stops at a lake and takes a bath._

 _D. Zombies attack and no one gets hurt because Bella is a badass._


	9. Not on my Watch

*WARNING* This is rated M for Mature. There will be violent and graphic scenes as well as some scenes of sex. I do not advise anyone under 18 to read this. You choose to read this at your own risk. If anything about this story bothers you, I suggest putting it down.

*Disclaimer* Twilight's character's belong to Stephenie Meyer. The story line belongs to Bella Marie Whitlock and I.

 _Hello, My lovely readers! It was neat what the few of you had to say for the predictions. The first person who got it right was given the sneak peak for this chapter. However, the second person that got it right was_ __ _and I wasn't able to send a PM to them. I'm sorry you were not able to get the sneak peak! I still encourage you to read and guess in the future! :) (I will not say what the correct answer was because you will see it once you start reading!_

 _Please enjoy the new chapter and don't forget to_ _review!_

 **Chapter 9 - Not on my Watch**

About a half hour later, the trailer is hooked up to the back of the truck. With the trailer being on the back, it makes it a little harder to get in and out through the tailgate, but we manage. We decide to leave the sleeping bags in the back in case we need to turn them into an extra sleeping spot. With the bags being thick, stacking two of them on top of each other may make it comfortable enough to nap on. Everything else is placed inside the trailer. Jasper and I, however, keep two pistols on us at all times while Jacob and Seth keep their melee weapons. I am a little worried about them having weapons on their persons, but as long as Jasper keeps an eye on them while I'm driving and vice versa when he's driving, I'm sure we'll be fine.

As we close the trailer, I turn to my group. "I think Jacob and Seth should take the back of the truck to rest up. Alice and Maddie can sit in the cab and talk or color. You can sit wherever you want, Jasper, but I figure if you're okay with it, you can sit up front with me. We have some things we should discuss."

Jasper nods, "Sounds like a plan to me. By the way fellas, we're heading to Colorado. So, if y'all don't fancy seein' that particular neck o' the woods, now'd be the time we part ways. We won't be detourin' outta our way to take ya anywhere else."

Seth holds his hands up while Jacob answers, "We're good with Colorado."

"Good," I state as I move to the back of the truck and pull the tailgate down. Once it's down, I motion for Jacob and Seth to get in. They move forward as a snapping twig catches my attention. I know it isn't them because there are no twigs or leaves near where we've parked.

Within a split second, I pull my Beretta from my waist, have the safety off, and the gun cocked. I am already aiming in the direction the sound is coming from. Jasper sucks in a breath and fumbles for his gun. A zombie comes limping out of the trees across the lot. But before Jasper can bring out his pistol, I am already firing a shot.

I hear a squeak come from both Alice and Maddie inside the truck after the shot fires. The sound of the gun echoes off of the trees and the building and I immediately curse myself. I forgot to put my silencer on! Another snap has me cocking the gun and aiming at the next invader.

This time, a female zombie comes stumbling out of the forest, groaning. Half of her face is missing and her jaw is unhinged as she groans again. She raises her arms and shambles closer. _Fuck! Sound- They are coming because of the sound!_ I pull my trigger again and am satisfied when I see her head shoot back. Her groan cuts off and her body falls to the ground in a heap. I click the safety back into place and hold my gun so it can cool down before putting it back into my waistband.

When I turn, Seth and Jacob are staring wide-eyed at me. Jasper is smirking. "H-how did you? That was so _fast_ ," Seth questions.

"My daddy taught me," I said sadly. "I wanted to follow in his footsteps by going into the force, but… " I trailed off, hoping they catch on, not wanting to talk about his death again. "Anyhow, we have to go _now!_ "

I run around to the driver's side and start the truck while Jasper helps the guys into the back. He quickly shuts the tailgate and sprints to the passenger side. "What was that loud sound?!" Alice shrieks frantically as we start for the road. I see out of the corner of my eye as Jasper motions to his gun and points at me. Then he quietly whispers, "Zombies."

I hear a soft "oh," come from Alice. I look in the rearview mirror to see Maddie looking out the window.

 **~*Before the Dawn*~**

Two hours later, we have to pull over so everyone can take a bathroom break. While we are stopped, we also get ourselves something to eat and drink. As I empty my can of corn, I go to toss it into the woods.

"Woah, wait!" Seth exclaims. I turn to him confused. "Why don't you save the cans? Won't they be useful to us in the future? We can fill them with water or use them as bowls for food, or storage containers, or we can cut them open and use the metal to make tools. When cut, the cans can be crafted into almost anything."

 _This Seth kid is a genius. Why didn't I think of that? I'm starting to like him more and more._ "Good point. I guess we can start wiping them out or rinsing them and throwing them in the trailer when we finish with them."

Seth nods as he finishes up his food. "Also, if you'd like me to drive sometime, I can. I have my learner's permit and have been driving with it for almost a year. I was supposed to get my license but I didn't have a car to practice in," Seth sighs as he tells me this.

"Thanks for letting me know, but I'll have to mention it to Jasper and let him decided. It's his truck," I reply to him with a smile.

"Alright, that makes sense, I guess." Seth holds his hand out and gestures towards my empty can. I hold it out to him and he takes it. I watch as he moves to the back of the trailer and puts the empty cans into it. After he shuts it, he makes his way over to the others to tell them about what we agreed on with the empty cans.

I suddenly remember the silencer I need to add to my Beretta. I head to the back of the trailer and open the door. I rummage through everything looking for the silencers I picked up. Once I find them, I pick one up and put it on my pistol. I also grab an extra magazine that fits my Beretta and fill it with bullets and stick it in my pocket. Having the extra ammo on me will come in handy. I also fill one for Jasper's pistol and place it in my other pocket to give to him.

Backing myself out of the trailer, I bump my head. "Fuck!" I curse quietly. Rubbing my head, I shut the trailer door and lock it. I walk up to the others still rubbing my head and reach into my pocket, pulling out the extra magazine. "Here you go Jasper. You should keep this handy," I instruct, handing it to him. "Also, we should get on the road again."

"Yes, let's. Alice and I'll sit up front because I can drive this round. Wanna sit in the cab with Maddie or back in the bed?"

I look over at Maddie and see her eyes drooping. "I should take the bed for a while so Maddie can take a nap. Who knows, I might take one too and then I can drive tonight."

"Alrighty. Git yer lil' behind in the truck then beautiful."

I walk over and pick up Maddie. She places her head on my shoulder and lets out a little yawn. As Jasper walks us to the back of the truck, I let him know about what Seth told me. "I want to mention something to you. Seth said he has his learner's permit. He says he's been driving with it for almost a year. So, he wanted to let us know he can drive some of the time if we want him to. I don't mind, but I think if we do, one of us should be in the front seat with him, as a precaution."

"Hmm, I think that can be arranged. If you sleep while Alice and I are drivin', you can drive after us, and then he can drive for an hour or two after you, but as long as you keep an eye on him." Jasper states as he pulls the tailgate down.

"I like that idea. Let's do it," I reply and help Maddie into the truck, then follow in behind her. I smile at Jasper as he closes the door and calls everyone else back to the truck.

I lay on the mattress with Maddie and hold her close to me. I hum softly, watching her slowly fall asleep. After she's soundly asleep, I close my eyes and drift into a peaceful slumber and dream I'm playing video games rather than killing _actual_ zombies.

 **~*Before the Dawn*~**

A couple hours later, I wake up to the sound of rain hitting the truck. Sitting up, careful not wanting to wake my sleeping Maddie, I roll off the mattress and sit in the open space in the bed of the truck. I stretch and move towards the window that separates the bed and the cab. I slid the window open and lean through the opening.

Seth and Jacob turn their heads to look in my direction when they hear the window open. Alice is the one driving now. How long did I sleep? The clouds and rain are blocking the sun or possibly the moon? Sighing, I ask, "What's up, guys?"

"We're in Wyoming now. It only took us five hours. Jasper switched with me after three," Alice informs me.

"We've been listening to crappy country music," Jacob mumbles. I cover my mouth in hopes of silencing my laugh.

"Thanks for letting me sleep. I feel great now. I'm fine to drive whenever you want me to, Alice. Holler back whenever you want to switch off. I'll just be relaxing with a sleeping Maddie."

 **~*Before the Dawn*~**

I wanna say an hour passed before Alice pulled over to let me drive. By that time, Maddie was up and eating a Pop Tart. Alice and Jasper decide Maddie can stay in the back with them while they rest, with Seth, Jacob, and I sitting up front. Seth is in the passenger seat while I drive and Jacob is stretching out on the back seat to rest his eyes. Seth leans his chair back while I pull back onto the road.

"Babe, come cuddle, you can rest up here." Seth asks Jacob sweetly.

"Not right now, it's more comfortable to stretch out." Jacob replies.

"Fiiine." Seth huffs. "So Bella, how old are you?" he asks quietly after a while, attempting to make small talk.

"I'm twenty, a sophomore in college."

"Wow, college. I've wanted to go since the beginning of Senior year. We were three weeks away from graduation, did you know that?" Seth spewed out excitedly.

I smile softly. "I remember what graduating feels like. I loved it when I graduated High School, but college isn't all it's cracked up to be, you know," I look over at him with a smirk and continue, "You're under more pressure because you have to do everything on your own with no one to keep you in line. A lot of people slack off because they have no one micromanaging them like you do in high school."

Seth laughs. "Yeah, I kind of figured that's what it would be like. Especially because I'd be playing football for the college as well."

"Speaking of football, why did you guys decide to leave your teammates behind. Why not just attack and take over instead of running?"

I see Seth look out of the window from the corner of my eye. He sighs. "It wasn't my choice to run and leave them behind. I'm really mad at Jake for that. We've known most of our teammates since middle school. There were some new faces come high school, but they became our friends, too. Anyhow, when those prisoners attacked us and started taking the other guys away, I was scared. Jake and I haven't even been intimate yet. I didn't want my first experience to be getting raped by those women. There was one woman named Maria, she was like their leader or something, she kept looking at me and eyeing me. I really didn't like it. And when Jake got us released, I helped fight back. But Jacob started pulling me away. At first I refused to leave the others behind, but Maria brought out this sharp object and tried attacking anyone within reach. I yelled for all the guys to flee, but no one listened to me. By the time anyone started to do anything, Jake was already dragging me out of the school. I feel so bad for leaving them behind. I really do.

"I remembered there was a Cabela's a few miles away from our school, so Jake and I ran for it. We saw a few zombies and were able to get away from them undetected. Since we had been trapped in the school the whole time, those were the first zombies I'd come across. They were really freaky looking. They had glassy eyes and missing limbs," I feel Seth shiver next to me. "One of the zombies was carrying around someone's arm. I can't get that sight out of my head. There was bone and ligaments hanging out of it."

My face scrunches up in disgust. I didn't need to picture that. "I'm sorry you had all that happen to you. Why don't we try and forget it and talk about something else."

"Please," Seth asks in a small whisper.

"So, what sports teams do you like?" I smile, happily giving him something lighter to focus on, and latching onto the change in subject he begins to drone on about some game he went to of the Dallas Cowboys VS. the Seattle Seahawks. I, for one, am grateful for the distraction.

*****Meet the Characters*****

None at the moment :)

 ****Prediction Time****

If you review with your answer and you get it right, I will PM you with a sneak peak of the next chapter! (It will most likely be unedited, but you will see the thought process!) I am only picking the first two people who guess right. If you get it right but you are not one of the two people, I will still mention that you guessed right in the next chapter!

Q: What do you think happens in the next chapter?

A. Bella learns more about Jacob's life

B. Zombies attack their truck

C. Maddie gets bitten

D. Stops at a river to eat, rest, swim, and bathe.

E. Both A and D


	10. Just a Little Slice of Paradise

_Heey guys! So sorry for my leave of absence. I was on my trip and I thought I would have time to write, but it turned out I didn't! When I got back from my trip, I was behind on homework so I was doing that while also working. I also had some personal / family issues go down, which made me want to do nothing for a while. Then, I got a cold. Thank god it's just about over. So it's been a crazy few weeks. Here is a new chapter for Before the Dawn. I am working on having a chapter for Destiny posted by tomorrow morning._

 _-K._

*WARNING* This is rated M for Mature. There will be violent and graphic scenes as well as some scenes of sex. I do not advise anyone under 18 to read this. You choose to read this at your own risk. If anything about this story bothers you, I suggest putting it down.

*Disclaimer* Twilight's character's belong to Stephenie Meyer. The story line belongs to Bella Marie Whitlock and I.

 **Chapter 10 - Just a Little Slice of Paradise**

After I drive approximately four hours, I trade seats with Seth. "Now, you know what everything is, right? You know how to work it all?"

Seth laughs and motions for me to watch his feet. "This is the brake that stops the car," he says, his foot hovering over the left pedal. "And this is the gas, the one that makes it go." He moves his hands over the gear shift. "'P' stands for park, 'R' stands for reverse, 'N' stands for neutral." Then he hovers over the steering wheel. "To my left, this stick allows me to signal other drivers where I am going, so it's essentially unnecessary in a zombie apocalypse, since I doubt we'll see many other drivers. But it's also the one that runs the wipers, etc."

Once he has gone over all of the boring dashboard components and their purposes to my satisfaction, I hand him the keys. As soon as Seth starts driving, I relax into my seat a bit. I'm still a little on edge because I don't know if he can turn or stop without jerking the truck too much. After a few minutes of observing his driving, I let out a sigh of relief and focus on the road ahead of us. I notice some zombies in the ditch about two or three miles out.

"Make sure you stay in the middle of the road. I don't care if you're in the oncoming lane, that's fine. There are some zombies ahead. It's best we don't let them get close to the truck." I watch as Seth maneuvers the truck into the middle of the road and continues driving. "Hey, Jasper, Alice?"

The door/window between the bed and the cab slides open. "Yes, Ma'am?" Jasper drawls.

I turn in my seat and lock eyes with Jasper. "We've got zombies up ahead. Please don't let Maddie look out the window. I also wanted to give a heads up in case they bang on the truck when we drive by. I have Seth driving in the center of the road so it's harder for them to touch the truck," I let him know.

"Alright, I'll keep Maddie from lookin'."

"Thanks," I say as I reach my hand out to nudge Jacob awake. _Heavy sleeper, not good._ When he doesn't budge, I turn to Seth. "How can I wake Jacob? He seems to be a pretty sound sleeper."

"You have to tickle his feet."

"Tickle… his feet?" I ask in disbelief. This giant football player needs his feet tickled in order to wake up. I let out a loud laugh. Jasper pops his head up and looks at me puzzled. I point to Jacob and then to his feet. I lean into the back of the seat and take of Jacob's shoes. However, I cringe when I get a whiff of his stinky feet. _He's only been wearing them for nine hours! How can they stink this bad and that fast?_ I gag a little and Jasper is laughing at me.

After being tickled, as promised Jacob shoots up, wide awake and looks around frantically. "Wuz goin' on?" he worries.

"Don't freak out, everything's fine. I just wanted to let you know we're about to pass some zombies in case they bang on the… and never mind, we just passed them. You took so long to wake up that it's a moot point now anyway." I sigh. "You know, being a sound sleeper is probably going to get you killed one day. Not trying to sound like a dick here, but this isn't the world where Mommy wakes you up for school when you sleep in. You've got to be on your toes at all times to survive. And there's no afternoon milk and cookies these days either, sorry to say."

Seth winces and immediately I realize I must have said something wrong. "Ah Bella," he cautions me. "I know you didn't know, but Jake hasn't really had that kind of a life."

"Seth, it's okay. I can see the point she's trying to make and I get it. We're on our own now. Completely. Relying on anyone at this point would be a mistake because everyone who is a part of our life today, could be dead or gone tomorrow. Really that shouldn't be too big of an adjustment." Jacob says, taking a drink from his water bottle. "Does anyone mind if I smoke in here? We can open the windows if that helps" he asks.

"You smoke?" I ask, ready to mark that as a check against him.

"I didn't used to. One of the other guys on the team kept a carton in his locker because he would sell them to kids at school. I was never interested because I know they'll kill you, but when we started seeing the reports come in on social media after the bombings and we realized what was going on out there, I bought a pack off of him because I know I'm one hundred times more likely to die of being eaten alive now than I am of cancer," he justifies. And as much as I hate to admit it, he's right.

"Well frick, just don't let my sister here you say that. I'm hopeful that by the time she's old enough to worry about things like that the world will be put back to rights. So I'd rather not have her dying of lung cancer. And with that said, please don't be smoking in her vicinity at any point either."

"Fair enough, I'll be aware of that and be careful not to." he agrees.

"He doesn't realize it's like kissing an ashtray." Seth whispers to me.

"What was that, babe?" Jake asks him. _Seth calls him Jake all the time, so I figure I can too._

"Nothing, why don'tcha come sit up here and then you can hear every word I'm saying, sugar buns." Seth suggests.

Jacob seems to ponder it for a couple minutes while he finishes his cigarette and after tossing it out the window, he climbs up front, buckling into the middle seat between Seth and I.

"So, you can tell me to shut up if it's too personal, but I sort of had a question for you." I ask cautiously, not sure if I'm going to be overstepping.

"Ask away, Bella." He smiles.

"What did Seth mean when he said that you haven't exactly had a milk and cookies life?"

For a few moments it doesn't seem like he's going to answer me.

"Well, my mom died a long time ago, so I grew up without ever knowing her. And my dad was in an accident that took away the use of his legs, so he was confined to a wheelchair until last year when he died too. My sisters and I sort of took care of each other and we did everything for my dad that he couldn't do for himself. But they're both married now with families of their own, and they both moved away, so now it's just me." he says, reaching for another cigarette.

I'm starting to see a correlation between his habit and stress, but Seth gently stalls his hand and shakes his head. Surprisingly Jake takes his advice and leaves the pack in his pocket. "Wow, Jacob, that's pretty harsh. I'm sort of in the same boat now myself, so I know what it's like, somewhat. We lost my dad a while back and my mom took two jobs to get by, so I became the primary caregiver for my sister. And then when the bombings started, my mom was killed by raiders so now it's just us." I share, hoping maybe it'll be some comfort to him to know he isn't the only one who's had it tough.

"And your sister, would you, well would ever go off and get married and leave her to figure things out for herself?" he questions, obviously thinking of his own sisters who didn't stick around for him.

"Nope. Can't say that I would. Any man who gets me needs to know he'll be getting Maddie to. We're a package deal, me and she. I guess you could say she's sort of like my daughter now. Mind you, I'll never be my mother, that's for sure. But she's only three years old. Which means that for all intents and purposes, I'm probably the only parent she'll remember." I realize, having not thought about the implications of her age before now. _She won't remember them. I'm all she has._

"Bella? Here, take this, sweetie." Jake says, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and handing me a tissue. I didn't even realize I was crying.

"Thanks." I smile, or at least it was an attempt at a smile anyway. Blowing my nose loudly, I feel a bit better. Jake wraps his arms more tightly around me and I give up on fighting back the tears. I've been trying to be strong for Maddie and I really haven't given myself any time to grieve.

It's like Jacob somehow just knows that I needed this. To just let go and cry. Like he knows exactly what I need right now. _But of course he does, Bella. He's been through this before, himself. He isn't psychic or even intuitive, just experienced._ And this isn't a type of experience I'd wish on anyone. _And he went through this even younger than me. Who knows how old he was when he lost his mom._

"Hey Jake," I begin, but he looks puzzled for a second, possibly _embarrassed_? No, that can't be right.

"Um, yeah Bella?" he says with a subtle little gulp like his throat is dry.

"Do you have any advice, for me, with Maddie? I mean, I was just thinking since you grew up without a mom, you might be able to tell me what I should do or say with her."

He thinks for a while before answering. "Well Bella, sadly there isn't like a manual or anything. And every kid is different. And girls are different than boys too. But, I think the main things that are pretty constant would be to keep their memory alive for starters. Talk about times that you all spent as a family, talk about how much they loved her, talk about your own memories of them from even before she was born, that sort of thing. And the other thing is just to make sure she knows that they are at peace. That where they've gone there are no zombies, and everything is just as it should be."

"Do you believe that, Jake? Do you believe in a heaven?"

"Well, my beliefs are more spiritual than religious, but I believe in an afterlife, yes. And if your family are Christian, then give her the Christian version. I'm sure that's what your parents would want, for you to carry on their beliefs and traditions with her, in their absence. Whatever those beliefs and traditions might be," he says, still holding me comfortingly. Though my crying has somewhat subsided.

"What are they teaching nowadays?" I grin. "You and Seth are both so smart, they must have improved the public education system since I was in it."

When I say this, Jake sits bolt upright again and refuses to make eye contact. _Shit, I hope I haven't offended him somehow._

"No, Seth is the smart one, I've just lived a lot." he denies modestly.

"Well, I think you're both smart. And I think you give really good advice, thank you, Jake."

"Mmhm," he nods. "Don't mention it."

And I get the impression he means literally.

 **~*Before the Dawn*~**

After driving for another two hours we realize we had better find a place to stop soon. Maddy's bladder has to be getting pretty full, along with some of the adults too. It would be nice if we could find some place with a shower but I'd hate to bring Maddy into any populated place if it isn't necessary, since there could be zombies.

Maybe we could find natural running water instead. If we could find a spring or a river or something, we could wash there. I am starting to feel gross after sitting in the truck for so long, especially surrounded by sweaty teenage guys. It'd be nice to get clean and change clothes.

Maybe if we stop somewhere secluded enough, we can stop long enough to have a fire and cook a meal. I'm sure the growing boys, and my growing Maddy, could use the sustenance. And if we can't find a spring, but we do find a less clean source of fresh water, we could always boil some of the water over said fire to sterilize it. And I think Jasper and Alice have one of those water filter pitchers to, so we could theoretically even make it taste decent. After all, our flats and jugs of bottled water won't last forever, even rationing them as we have been. It'd be better to start living off them as much as possible.

Speaking of living off the land, I hope once we find Emmett, he won't want to stay in the city. I'd like to take our group, whoever decides to stay with us, and get to somewhere rural that we can settle. If we find a backwoods type of place where we won't encounter many zombies or even other survivors, then we won't go through as much in the way of ammo, and we can fortify the area and even grow our own food. I'd like to live in a place one day where Maddy can just be a kid again. Hopefully that isn't just a pipe dream.

"Hey Bella, what d'ya think o' this Fontenelle Creek Campground to stop at for a few hours? On the map, there's a campground. The little information say there are potable water spigots, trash facilities, vault _and_ flush restrooms, fifty-five campsites with covered picnic tables and barbecue grills and fire rings and there is firewood. If there're no zombies, it sounds just 'bout perfect. It ain't on the highway or even close to it, so with any luck we might find it completely deserted. But it's wide open, high desert camping too, so if there are any zombies, we should see 'em before they see us." Jasper asks, showing me the spot on the map.

"Yeah, that sounds perfect! We just passed Hoback, so how do we get there from here?"

"Stay on the 191, you should see signs for Fontenelle Creek in about an hour and a half, I reckon."

"Alright, sweet!" I nod, and we do just that.

 **~*Before the Dawn*~**

When we arrive at the Fontenelle Creek Campground, the first item on the agenda is to get everyone out and into the water. Eating is something we can do on the road if we have to, but bathing opportunities have been non-existent so far.

"Okay guys, I'm going to take Maddie into the shallows really quick first and get her washed, while you boys get a fire going, then when she and I are finished, I will cook something for everyone while the rest of you swim. But choose a fire ring out of eyesight from the water. I'm assuming most of you don't have bathing suits and I don't need Maddie to see everybody's bits and pieces, okay? She's never seen a winkie and I'd like to keep it that way."

"Ah, Bella, did you just say _winkie_?"

"Shut up, Seth."

"Ugh fiiine, but I am _so_ teasing you later for that." He laughs, as the boys go off to build the fire and Alice decides to clear the garbage out of the truck and do a few other items of maintenance while there is time to.

"Last one in has to do a dare." I hear Seth giggle, after the fire is built and Maddie is clean, and I start prepping dinner. _And you thought_ I _was being childish?_ I smirk to myself.

I originally wasn't sure if Alice planned on going in at the same time as the boys or not, or even if she had a swimsuit. I had thought to bring suits for Maddie and I, of course, but I never actually asked Alice and Jasper how much of a rush they'd had to pack in.

That question is answered for me though, as I see her out of the corner of my eye, running from where the truck is parked, to the river, in her bra and panties and cannonball in. _Well, she's more adventurous than I am, that's for sure!_

While I cook, their happy laughter occasionally drifts up from the shore to where I work and Maddie plays quietly. I'd never thought of Madeline as a burden, and I still don't, of course. But fleetingly, a very small part of me, wishes I could join with the others in their carefree fun. Instead, I decide to make the most out of the moment and begin humming 'When You're Smiling' and Maddie, who must subconsciously remember our mother singing it, starts singing softly along.

We don't encounter any zombies while we're at the campground, which is a huge relief. We actually have time to relax and learn more about each other as friends. The whole group of us are better off for it. Jasper catches a few fish, while the rest of us are eating the canned food and perishables I prepared, so after he cleans and guts them, I cook those too. We don't stay to eat them, though, since it's getting late and none of us want to still be here, as sitting ducks after dark descends. So we wrap the fish in foil to have later when we get hungry next. They'll keep that long, at least.

After we clean up, and put out the fire, it's time to pack things up and get back on the road. "So, Jasper, who's driving next?" I ask, since it's his truck.

He thinks for a minute. "Well Bella, I was thinkin' we should let Maddie drive," he says, completely straight faced. "She has to learn sometime, right?"

"Jasper!" Alice exclaims, looking flustered. "She thinks you're _serious!_ Knock it off!"

Jasper looks confused for a second, until he realizes, that I've gone off into another world in my mind. A world where Maddie is already a teenager, old enough to drive, and we're still scrounging for food and running from zombies. It's not a pretty world, but it just might become our reality.

"I'm sorry, Bella. I really wasn't thinkin'." He sighs. And he must be reasonably intuitive because he seems to have figured out exactly where my mind went.

"It's fine, Jasper. Let's get going. I'll feel a lot better about everything when we get to Denver." _Depending on what we find there, that is._ I sigh and shake myself out of my thoughts as I buckle Maddie in, and we drive off, headed to fates unknown.

*****Meet the Characters*****

None at the moment :)


	11. Lucky Breaks

_Heey guys! I'm extremely sorry for yet another leave of absence. As I said in my author's noteI put up a couple days ago, my birthday came up as well as college course, work, and personal issues i'm still dealing with. However, I want to thank you all for being patient. Here is a new chapter for Before the Dawn. I am working on having a chapter for Destiny posted by tomorrow morning and a chapter of Because of You by the afternoon. If they do not get posted before work, they will be posted after work or Thursday (my next day off)._

 _-K._

*WARNING* This is rated M for Mature. There will be violent and graphic scenes as well as some scenes of sex. I do not advise anyone under 18 to read this. You choose to read this at your own risk. If anything about this story bothers you, I suggest putting it down.

*Disclaimer* Twilight's character's belong to Stephenie Meyer. The story line belongs to Bella Marie Whitlock and I.

 **Chapter 11 - Lucky Breaks**

After being on the road for another full day and a few bathroom stops, we finally make it to Colorado. I'm sitting in the front seat talking with Jasper as we pass the 'Welcome to Colorado' sign. It looks we should arrive in the Denver area in about four hours if we keep driving. Hopefully, we can find a small house to stop at for the night so that everyone can get a full night's sleep before we hit the city. Being more alert will help, being in such a big city that could be overrun with zombies.

"Jasper, let's look for a small place away from everything for right now. Maybe we can stop somewhere like that for the night and get back on the road in the early morning."

Jasper glances over at me. "That's not a bad idea. Let's keep an eye out. It isn't dark yet, so we can see the houses still. It'd be better than arrivin' in Denver at night, good thinkin' Bella."

Leaning back in the seat, I look out the window, hoping to find a house to stop at. "Jasper, when we get into Denver, there is a place I have to go to meet my cousin. We need to go to the Magnolia Hotel to find him. If he isn't there, it means we have to find the bowling alley called the Lucky Strike and wait for him there. Emmett told me he is going to secure the bowling alley for me and have a red bandana tied to the door for as long as it is safe. He said that every morning at dawn he will check out the bowling alley for me."

"And what if there is no bandana?"

"Then we're supposed to find another place to lay low." I bite my lip. "I hope that doesn't happen, because we could end up wasting days looking for each other if that's the case. Whereas, if we're able to get together at the Lucky Strike, then we'll have Emmett's help finding for your twin. Which would be a good thing. The more people looking for your sister, the better."

"Yeah, I reckon you're right."

 **~*Before the Dawn*~**

"Jasper, this little house should be perfect for the night, as long as it's deserted." I exclaim as we drive up the long dirt road. "When we stop, you and I should make sure it's all secure and check that no one else is using in the house. I would hate to impose if anyone is already staying there."

"Agreed," Jasper says as we stop next to the other vehicle on the dirt road. The little house is picture perfect with white siding, a green shingled roof, and green trim on the windows. There are even green shutters made of solid wood that we can secure at night.

Getting out of the car, Jasper and I pull out our pistols and flashlights and move to the front door. Being polite, I try knocking first. When nothing happens, I knock again. After waiting a few minutes, I crouch down and pull two bobby pins out of my hair. I stick it in the keyhole and jiggle it around, listening for the tumblers to catch, hoping I can unlock the door. It's much harder than unlocking the bathroom door at my house back in Seattle, but I eventually get it.

Pushing the door open, I bring my flashlight up and turn it on. Jasper and I proceed together into the living room. Nothing seems to be out of place, which is odd. Where did this family go? Moving from room to room downstairs, we find nothing. We slowly move up the stairs to check out the other rooms. When I open the first door, I find it is a young boys room. The room is filled with superheroes. Jasper and I move onto the next room, a teenage girl's room. Music posters cover the walls and a computer sits all alone at the desk. I notice both the boy and the girl's closets remain untouched.

With two doors left, I assume one is the bathroom and the other must be the parents room. I turn the knob on one of the doors and my breath catches in my throat. In the bathroom, there are four corpses. The bodies of the two children are in the bathtub. The mother and father are laying sprawled out on the bathroom floor. A gun is closest to the father. I turn my head away from the gruesome scene, meanwhile Jasper just stares at them.

"It looks like the family must have taken their own lives," I state.

"Yeah, looks like it," Jasper agrees.

"How could they just give up like that? They had children for crying out loud! Didn't these kids deserve a shot at least!?" I cry.

"I guess they didn't feel like fighting. Not everyone is a born survivor, Bella. And some people don't even want to learn how. It's a cryin' shame, but there ain't nothin' we can do about it now. All we can do is say a prayer over 'em, lock the bathroom door, and thank God that there is food in these people's cupboards. Their deaths won't be in vain, if their supplies can help us to stay alive." He reasons.

"Yeah, okay. Yeah, you're right." I nod, pulling myself together.

Taking the door in my hand and making sure it locks, I gently close it. We wouldn't have been using the bathroom anyway if the plumbing doesn't work. Jasper and I head into the last room to secure it before we go back to the truck. We climb in quietly and Jasper drives it up behind the house. The truck should be safe back here, because it will be out of sight from the road. After parking the truck, Jasper and I help everyone else out and start bringing things into the house.

I pick up Maddie and hold her close to me. "Alright, there are three bedrooms in this house, one is a little kid's room with a small bed. Maddie can take that room. Then there is a teenager's room with a queen size bed, which Seth and Jake can have. Jasper and Alice can have the master bedroom with the king. I'll sleep downstairs on the couch since I'm a light sleeper. I can keep guard."

"Now hang on there Bella. I've slept more recently than you have, an' I'm a light sleeper too. Why don't I take the first shift on watch. I'm gonna need ya rested when we get into town, so you oughta sleep while you can. You can share the bed with Alice. I trust you not to molest my girl." He suggests, the last part teasing of course.

"Yeah, I suppose maybe I'd better. But you can't let me sleep for more than four hours, okay? You need to rest too and I will need to get up to check on Maddie." I make him promise to wake me.

"Deal."

After everyone agrees about where we are going to sleep, we gather some supplies out of the trailer and bring them inside.

When I'm through with running supplies in, I hear Seth talking to Maddie in her room.

"Aww cool! You've got Thor, and The Hulk and Iron Man, and Captain America, and Spider-Man, and a whole bunch of other heroes on your walls, Maddie. This room's great!"

"Who's dis one, Seph?" She asks him.

"That's Storm, she's one of the X-Men."

"But see issin a _man_! See sould be a X wady." Maddie insists.

"You're right, Maddie. She should be an X-Lady. If things ever get back to normal, maybe we can take that up with the people who make these characters, okay?" He attempts to pacify her.

"Otay."

Seth comes out of the room then, and I mouth a _thank you_ to him. He nods and I go in to tuck Maddie in for the night. She seems to be in better spirits than she has been lately. _Maybe Seth is a good influence, since he's so young at heart himself._

"Hey Bella, can I talk to you?" Jacob says as I am leaving Maddie's room. I can hear Seth downstairs now, talking to Alice and Jasper in the kitchen.

"Yeah, sure, Jacob, what's up?" I ask, sitting down on a storage bench in the hallway.

"Well, this is probably too personal and you can stop me if you don't want to hear it, but I really have no one else to talk to. I can't talk to Seth about this because he's why I need to talk to someone, and I feel like I've gotten to know you a bit better than the others." He begins, fidgeting nervously with his hands.

"Of course, Jake, you can tell me anything. I'd be happy to listen." I smile encouragingly. _Poor guy, not having anyone to talk to would be hard under the best of circumstances, let alone with the way things have been for everyone lately._

"Okay, well… see, the thing is, this is the first time Seth and I have spent the night together, sharing a bed, and I'm starting to think he might want to go all the way. And well, I mean, he and I have _talked_ about having sex, and we've both said we feel like we're ready. So I guess we've sort of been waiting for the right opportunity, but see, that's the thing. I mean, it's not like I need for my first time to be all candles and roses like in the movies, or anything. But, I also didn't think it would be in a house full of dead people on our way into a city full of zombies, ya know?

"And I guess, I just don't really know how to tell Seth I feel that way, without making it seem like I don't want to be with him. Because, _that_ isn't it at all. I really, really do want to be with him, I just feel that under the circumstances, maybe I'm not really ready. But on the other hand, if I talk to him, and it turns out I was wrong, and he isn't angling for sex, well then I'm gonna feel like an idiot for assuming so, and be totally embarrassed. Does that make sense? Ugh, I just don't know what to do!" He sighs, resting his head deliberately in his hands.

"Wow, no wonder you've seemed a little stressed since we got here. I thought it was just because Jasper told you about the bathroom full of dead people." I shake my head at myself for not having realized there was more to it.

"Well, I mean yeah, that _is_ part of it, for sure. But I mean, if you think back to your first time, I'm sure you wouldn't have wanted it to be in a place like this, right?"

"Oh. Well, actually Jacob, I haven't had my first time yet. I'm still a virgin. One hundred percent." I say, a bit awkwardly as the heat rises to my cheeks.

"What, seriously? But, Bella, you're so beautiful and smart and multitalented, how have you not ever, you know?" He looks shocked.

"Thank you, Jacob, that's very sweet of you to say. I don't really see myself as all of those things, but even if I were, the fact remains that I've never even had a serious boyfriend, and I'm not the type that would be with someone unless I had been with that person for at least a while and was pretty sure it was going somewhere. So I guess you could say, I've never had the opportunity. But I think that I would probably feel the same way you do. I think most people want their first time to be special.

"Why don't you just tell Seth that _you've_ been thinking about sex lately and that you've decided that you'd like to wait until you get somewhere a little more settled. Somewhere that you can take your time with him and enjoy it. That way, whether or not he's been thinking about it, it seems like it's your idea. That way he'll feel wanted and appreciated but he'll hopefully understand your desire to wait." I suggest.

"Damn, Bella! For someone who's never had sex, you sure give good advice!" Jake laughs.

I brush the invisible dust off my shoulders in an exaggerated show of ego. "Yes, well, it comes with age, and I'm a lot older than you are."

"Yeah true, and with everything you've been through, you're probably emotionally even older still. Like, thirty-five, or something." He teases.

"Hey, now! You've been through a lot too, _kiddo_. You're probably at least twenty-two yourself!" I laugh.

"Really? Only twenty-two?"

"Yeah, well, come talk to me after you kill a few zombies, okay? Then I'll up your number." I grin.

"Sure, sure. Say, is that a gray hair you've got there?" He says with a straight face, pulling a hair out by the root from my head.

" _Ouch_! That hurts! And no it isn't, but nice try, smart ass!" I huff, rubbing my head.

"Aww, you think I'm smart? Thank you!"

And we would have continued the banter but a high pitched squeal interrupted our banter.

"Guys! They have Margarita mix in their freezer and it's still frozen! I'm making drinks, come join!" Alice called up the stairs.

"Have you ever done any drinking, Jacob?" I ask him, not sure if I should object to Alice's suggestion.

"A little bit. My dad used to keep beer in the fridge and he'd let me have one once in awhile."

"Alright then, want to join in the festivities?"

"Yeah, in a few minutes. I think I'd better have that talk with Seth first _before_ we start drinking. Can you send him up here for me please?"

I smile, relieved he seems to have some good sense about him. "Wise choice. That definitely bumps you up to like, twenty-five. I'll get him for you and see you downstairs in a bit then. Otherwise, holler if you need me, or if Maddie wakes up."

"Will do. And Bella?"

"Yeah, Jake?"

"Thanks."

"Anytime, Jake."

 **~*Before the Dawn*~**

Waking up the next morning, everyone else is pretty funny to watch. I had only had one margarita last night because I wanted to remain alert for Maddie's sake, in case she needed me.

But Alice had, like, a billion or some ridiculous number of them, and Jasper had quite a few too. They seem to be somewhat accustomed to drinking, though… whereas Jake and Seth, who had only had a few, are obviously feeling _very_ hungover at the moment. I can't help but tease them a little.

"HEY GUYS!" I yell, "How are you feeling?"

Jake whimpers and Seth covers his ears. Jasper chuckles from where he is making some coffee, using a portable generator for power that he found in the garage of the house this morning.

"Must you use your big voice, Bells? My head hurts." Jake whines. Sitting down at the kitchen island with his head in his hands.

"Ohh, baby, want me to kiss it better?" Seth asks him, momentarily forgetting his own headache.

Jasper decides to contribute to my efforts at teaching them a lesson and drops a pan on the counter pretending it was an accident. The copper pan makes a loud clanging noise.

"Aahh! Geez! I'm never drinking again!" Jake wails. We all laugh quietly to ourselves, likely all recollection times when we had said those words ourselves after a night of too much fun. Meanwhile, Seth heads to the trailer to find some ibuprofen and takes some, passing some to Jake. He leaves the bottle on the counter in case someone else needs any, and thankfully Maddie isn't awake yet, or I'd have to scold him for leaving them out. I'll remember to put them away when she gets up though, if he hasn't yet by then.

"You know," Jasper begins, as he and I begin cooking breakfast for the troops, "you probably shouldn't be taking those for a self-inflicted hangover, considering our supplies will have to last for who knows how long, and we also don't know if we can even find more supplies on our future travels. Everything is likely picked over in the city. We should also start being careful with what alcohol we drink. Beer and coolers and things like that are fine, but we should keep any hard liquor we find, in case we ever need to use it as an antiseptic or anesthetic down the line."

"Damn, that's a good point, Jasper," Seth agrees, "man, am I ever glad we found ourselves some smart people to hang around with. On our own, I bet we'd be dead by now."

"Baby, are you saying we're not smart?" Jacob asks Seth.

"Not at all, honey. I'm saying these old geezers have more years of experience than we do." Seth teases us, which I guess we deserve for teasing them.

"Sissy, wuz a geezoor?" Maddie asks. _Maddie's up? Maddie's in the kitchen? Oh crap! I didn't even hear her come downstairs!_

Recovering quickly, I scoop her up and set her in a chair at the kitchen table and grab one of her coloring books.

"Good morning, Mads. A geezer is an old person, sweety. Seth was just teasing us."

"Sephy, you sudnt teez dem. Dey can't hewp it if deys owd." She admonishes him.

And we all have to laugh at that one. I guess to a three year old, we must seem _really_ old!

After breakfast, we gather up our belongings along with anything we can use from this little house that we have room to take, including the generator, which is one of our greatest finds so far. It's time now to finish up here and get our butts back on the road. We've still got family to find!

 **~*Before the Dawn*~**

Being back on the road again is a little depressing. I enjoyed staying in that little house. I hope we are able to settle down at some point and live in a house for a few months at a time. Especially when it gets to be winter time. I wouldn't want to be living out on the road in the winter. Vehicles are known to be a bad place to sleep. It's just like sleeping out on the streets. You cannot keep the heat on because you would need to keep the car running. If we keep the car running, then that means running out of gas a lot quicker. Heat isn't the only factor. Winter driving is also dangerous. Especially with Maddie. I don't want to risk her getting injured or sick from an accident or by being exposed to the elements all the time. It'd be better if we can hole up somewhere warm where I can protect her.

Sighing, I focus myself on the road again. I'm the one driving into Denver since I know where the Magnolia is. I've been there before with a few of my classmates when we came here during winter break. Jasper is sitting next to me, taking a small nap, while Alice and Maddie are sitting in the back seat. Seth and Jake are in the bed of the truck, either sleeping again or talking. I have no idea. But with the amazing night sleep we all got last night, I doubt anyone is still tired.

 **~*Before the Dawn*~**

Arriving in Denver, I am in shock. The streets are a disaster and zombies are walking around everywhere. Jasper sits up straight when he notices them. I gulp as I maneuver the truck through the streets, trying not to hit any of them. I'm not sure what will attract them, the quiet hum of the truck or the thump as the zombies hit the truck. So, it'd be best if I keep from hitting them. "Alice, make sure Maddie doesn't look."

I glance in the rearview mirror to see Alice lock eyes with me. She looks a bit frightened. "Okay, I can do that," she replies. I look back to the road and keep an eye on the street names.

After a few turns, we pull up to the Magnolia. I notice the windows are boarded up, which could be a good sign. I leave the engine running as I put it in park. "Alright Jasper, the nearest zombie is by that light. He hasn't noticed us yet. I am going to get out and shut the door softly and try to go through the front door. I'll be right out."

"Yes, ma'am."

Closing the door quietly behind me, I speed walk to the front door. I freeze when I see over the boards in the window. There is no one there. Shit, that can't be right. I get closer and tiptoe, so I can see better over the boards. Completely empty. No zombies, but no Emmett. I try the handle but it is locked. What does this mean? Did he go out and get bit? Is he upstairs on another floor? Maybe I better go to the Lucky Strike. "Shit," I say quietly. We can wait two days and if Emmett isn't there at dawn then we can move on. I make my way back to the truck. As soon as I am in, I put the car in drive and begin heading down the street.

"There is no one there. It's empty. I hope he's okay, but we should go to our safe spot. We need to find the Lucky Strike and bunker down there. If Emmett doesn't come after two days, we can leave."

"Yeah, that works," Jasper replies.

 **~*Before the Dawn*~**

Finding the Lucky Strike proves to be a little harder than I expected. It takes us a half hour. I'm happy to find that the building still has a red bandana on the doorknob. Jasper and I share a look of happiness before pulling into the parking lot. We avoid parking in the front of the building, because of the zombies. They seem to be primarily sticking to the roads, in groups. We pull into the area behind the store and park there. I assume it's the lot for employees.

Seth and Jacob are in charge of grabbing the sleeping bags and extra comforter we took from the small house. Alice is holding Maddie, while I carry everyone's backpacks. I have one thrown over my left and another over the right. Then I have the rest hanging off my arms. Jasper grabs some food. That way, we don't have to run out after it gets dark.

Once everyone has their hands full, we make our way to the front of the building. Jasper wiggles the knob with his free hand and finds it unlocked. Jasper, Alice, and Maddie take the lead as they walk inside. I watch as Jake and Seth follow behind. I bring up the rear and drop the bags next to the door once we are inside. Before I close the doors, I look around the area. It's clear for now. It's surrounded by other buildings and the alley does connect with the road on either end, so we will still have to keep an eye out for zombies, especially if we come out to grab supplies. We never can be too careful. I shudder as I remember getting caught off guard at Cabela's.

Joining the others, I notice Jake and Seth are behind the concession stand. "What are you guys doing back there?"

Jake smiles brightly. "It looks like this bowling alley has a back up generator. We realized when we came across the fridge and freezer working. It just seems the lights are off, so we can keep them off and use our flashlights and cook ourselves a hot meal, like pizza. Mmm, pizza. It's been awhile since I've had pizza."

Another generator? Perfect! It looks like we won't have to use the canned food we brought in with us. "This is perfect! When we leave the bowling alley, after my cousin comes, we can take this generator with us too. If we find a nice little place to settle down then that means we'll have enough electricity for things like a stove. And this generator runs on gas, which we can stockpile - unlike the solar powered one from the small house - so this will be better for use indoors." I exclaim excitedly. I begin to imagine what it would be like living in a secured house with everyone and using the generator.

"Hey, Bella?" Jasper asks bringing me out of my thoughts.

"Huh?" I ask as I turn towards him.

"I was just thinking, why don't we tear a piece of clothing or something to hang on the door with the bandana? That way your cousin, Emmett, knows we are here for sure."

"Hmm, good idea." I take a hold of my right sleeve and yank it off. "Here, use this. I was thinking about making this shirt into a tank top anyway." Jasper takes ahold of the ripped sleeve, writes a message on it, and walks to the door. _Smart thinking._ I use that time to take my left sleeve and rip it off. By the time Jasper gets back, Jacob and Seth have the blankets all rolled out and are rummaging through the kitchen. Maddie and Alice are sitting at one of the tables coloring. _Always coloring._ I roll my eyes, but smile happily.

"So, Jacob, gonna stick to your word and cook for us tonight?"

Laughing, Jacob gets up off the floor. "Yeah, I'll cook. Everyone okay with pepperoni pizza?"

"Oh, my gosh, yes! Pepperoni!" Alice cheers, clapping for pepperoni.

"Maddie and I love pepperoni."

"Fine by me," Jasper says lazily as he stretches out in a chair next to Alice.

Jacob has only been gone ten minutes when I start smelling the aroma of pizza cooking. The smell of the cheese melting makes my mouth water and I can hardly wait for it to be done.

When the pizza finally finishes and Jacob calls us over to eat, I get really confused. Because there are condiments out on the counter but the only food set out is pizza.

"Hey, Jake, what's the ranch dressing for, are we having salad with the pizza?" I ask him.

"Uh, you can if you want. I just put it out for a dip. There's barbecue and Frank's Hot too, if you prefer."

"Oh okay, but what is it a dip for? Did you make chicken wings or something too?" I ask, looking around still trying to figure out what other food I'm missing here.

"No, no, it's for the pizza. I would have done up a Chipotle mayo and a dill too, maybe a garlic, but I couldn't find the spices," he said. And sure enough, Jacob grabbed a slice of pizza and a paper plate and he put a puddle of the ranch dressing on the plate and started dipping his pizza in it. I was so disgusted.

"Nah, man, with Pepperoni, the best thing is to take the Frank's Hot, or even better, that chili sauce with the rooster on the bottle, if they have it, and drizzle it over the top," Seth said, looking in the fridge for such and thing. "Found it!" he grinned, pouring some thick, dark red hot sauce on his pizza slice. "and you gotta pound it back with one of these!" he said, grabbing a bunch of those little cartons of chocolate milk out of the fridge and opening one for himself.

"Man, you do milk with pizza? Only pop goes with pizza," Jake huffed. "It's like an unwritten rule."

"No, not milk, _chocolate milk_. There is a _huge_ difference. Nobody does _milk_ with pizza." Seth says, as I promptly elbow him, because hello, Maddie is drinking milk with her pizza as we speak, since who knows when we'll get milk next and she needs the calcium. I look pointedly in her direction, hoping Seth will get the hint.

He does and starts backpedaling immediately. "And by nobody, I mean none of us _boys_ should drink milk with pizza, because girls need the calcium more, so we should save the milk for them and drink pop with our pizza," he corrected.

 _Thank you._ I whisper/mouth to him. He nods and sighs in relief when Maddie goes back to drinking her milk again. Only having been momentarily dissuaded.

"Nice save," Jasper chuckles, patting Seth on the back. He walks past us all to the cutlery drawer and gets out a knife and fork, handing them to Alice.

"Uh, what are those for?" Jake asks, taking his turn at looking confused.

"Oh, I eat my pizza the European way." Alice explains, slicing into it with the knife and fork and spearing a bite on her fork. We all just stare in wonder. Then the spell is broken when Maddie asks if she may have a knife and fork for her pizza too.

Jasper rolls his eyes and looks apologetic, but I just laugh. It's cute that she's picking up food quirks from the others, it means she's starting to look up to them. I want her to have good relationships with the others in case anything ever happens to me. I need to know somebody will have Maddie's back if I'm not around anymore. I should talk to Jasper and Alice about that at some point. Unless we find Emmett, I'm the only family Mads has got.

"Am I the only one who just picks up a plain ol' pizza and puts it in my mouth?" Jasper asks, knocking me from my thoughts.

"Nope, I'm old school like you are, Jasper. Pizza is perfectly fine on its own without any pomp and ceremony." I laugh, taking a bite. And boy, when you've been eating everything from a can for several days, pizza sure tastes like a little slice of heaven. "Mmmmnnh!" I can't help moaning a little when I eat it.

"I concur!" Alice giggles. And we begin trying to outdo each other's pizza noises. Sometimes I wish I had a camera. It's lighthearted moments like these that remind me why we are bothering fighting through all of this chaos in the first place. And maybe one day, pizza around the table with friends will become our norm again.

But it won't be for a long time, and we're reminded of that fact when Maddie says, "You sown like a zomie, Sissy."

"I can't decide if that's better or worse than her equating your moaning to sex noises." Jake whispered, though not quietly enough.

"Wass a segs?" Maddie asked. And they all burst out laughing while I glared at Jacob, who threw his hands up in defence.

"Nothing to worry about, Mads. Finish your pizza."

In spite of the issue of everyone forgetting there was an impressionable little girl present, pizza night was a huge hit. Everyone had fun, and afterwards, we all camped out in the bowling lanes in sleeping bags so we each had our own 'room' even though it was all one big room. We could have divided ourselves up and slept in the storage rooms but we wanted to be visible in case Emmett came in the morning. I for one, seriously hoped he would.

 **~*Extra*~**

My co-writer informs me she added a thing from 'Deep End of the Ocean' and wants to make sure it gets credit.


	12. A Violent Reunion

_Heey guys! I was away on a last minute vacation. My father decided to send out my little sister for her sweet sixteen! I was extremely excited because I haven't seen my family since Christmas, so it was wonderful seeing my sister again. We did so many things like swimming in an inactive volcano crater, shooting range, family funplex. When we'd get home, we'd be so wiped out we would just relax and watch TV and end up falling asleep. However, she's now home, as of today, and I have finished a chapter with my co-writer. Here it is so enjoy!_

 _-K._

*WARNING* This is rated M for Mature. There will be violent and graphic scenes as well as some scenes of sex. I do not advise anyone under 18 to read this. You choose to read this at your own risk. If anything about this story bothers you, I suggest putting it down.

*Disclaimer* Twilight's character's belong to Stephenie Meyer. The story line belongs to Bella Marie Whitlock and I.

 **Chapter 12 - A Violent Reunion**

Sitting up, I stretch and get to my feet. The others are still sleeping. Seeing no sunlight coming in through the boards I want to assume it's still dark out. It felt great sleeping through the night and not having to worry as much about zombies. I'm glad Jasper thought to lock the doors. And I'm sure if Emmett came buy and tried the door, he would have seen our sign and know it was us and he would have knocked. Since we didn't wake up to any knocking, I assume Emmett didn't come by.

Stepping over Maddie, I make my way to the kitchen. I figure I can start cooking a big breakfast for everyone for when they wake up. Opening the fridge, the first thing I see is a large pack of bacon. I'm drooling before I even reach in to pull it out. Grabbing the bacon, I see eggs and immediately think of my kickass omelets. All I need is some milk, cheese, green peppers, and ham. It would be better if we had some of my mother's garden peppers that she canned. Gasping, I realize there is one jar that I packed when we left! Those peppers are so amazing, I could eat them just the way they are.

After grabbing the milk, cheese, ham, and bacon, I place them on the counter. I head over to the bags to see if the peppers are with the canned items we brought in. I sigh sadly when they are nowhere to be found. It's still dark out, so I don't really want to risk going out there alone. Maybe I'll just cook the bacon right now and hope that it is lighter outside when it's done.

Moving to the stove, I turn the knob. It makes a clicking sound and a flame erupts. I turn the knob to the right so the flame dims. I grab the pizza pan from last night and place it over the flames. I frown to myself when I realize there are holes all over the bottom of it. _That won't work then, hmm._ Heading to the back of the kitchen, I look for a different pan to cook the bacon in. Spotting a large pan all by its lonesome at the back of the shelf, I grab it.

Realizing I also need something to drain the grease off the bacon, I begin a search for plates and paper towels. Opening cabinet after cabinet, I finally find the plates I'm looking for. Looking to my left, I notice a roll of paper towels above the sink. Grabbing a couple of them, I head back to the stove. I place the plate on the counter and put the paper towels on top of the plate. I pick the package of bacon up, bring it to my mouth and rip it open with my teeth. Pulling out strips of bacon, I lay them flat on the pan. As they start to sizzle, I move to the side to look over the counter at the others.

Maddie is sleeping peacefully on her side. She's curled up in a ball and sucking her thumb. Alice and Jasper are in the lane beside Maddie. They are cuddled up together in one bag. As Alice moves closer to Jasper, he sighs in content. I glance over at Jake and Seth. They, too, are cuddling. Jacob is being the big spoon which makes me laugh quietly to myself. I hope that one day, beyond all of this devastation, I can find someone good for me, to love, someone who would be there for Maddie and I.

I flinch when some of the grease from the bacon hits my arm and stops me from watching them. Rubbing it softly, I look around for a fork or some kind of utensil to flip the bacon. Not seeing anything in sight, I look through the drawers and find a pair of tongs, then head back to flip the bacon. Hearing a moan causes me to freeze and look up mid-flip. Turning off the stove, I quickly move to the front door. Looking out of the boarded windows, I cannot make out anything outside since it is still dark. Moving back towards the kitchen, I hear another sound.

Heading into the area where everyone is sleeping, I find Alice sitting upright and stretching, much like I was this morning. A soft moan escapes her mouth as her back cracks. Placing a hand over my heart and sigh in relief. "Thanks a lot, Alice. You had me thinking there were zombies in here!"

Alice jumps at hearing my voice suddenly beside her. Muffling a laugh with my left hand, I extend my right for her. She grabs it and I help her up. "Yes, and now it's my turn to thank you for scaring me!"

Laughing together quietly, I motion her into the kitchen with me. I get back to starting the bacon by turning the burner on. "Do you mind cooking the bacon while I head out to the trailer? I have to find the peppers I packed from my house."

"Are you sure it's a good idea? It still seems dark out."

Waving her off, I reply, "I should be fine. There wasn't any zombies when we first got here and we're parked in the back lot. I'm going to take my flashlight, so it's not like I'm heading out there totally blind."

Alice shifts uncomfortably. "Um, I guess. I might burn some of the bacon though. I'm really bad at it, but I don't mind eating the burnt ones."

"They don't have to be perfect, Alice. Just edible," I giggle. Alice answers back with a giggle of her own. I move towards the backpacks and start looking for my flashlight. After finding it, I head to the front door and unlock it. Cracking the door open, I turn my flashlight on and look out. Seeing nothing in sight, I open the door some more and slide out. I shut it quickly and quietly.

I can tell that the sun is about to come up from the fact the sky is getting this purple and pink haze to it. I take a second to admire the sight, before heading to the trailer. I walk around to the back of the building and notice it is darker here because the sunrise doesn't reach over the building. I lift up my flashlight and use it to guide me to the trailer door.

Opening it, I lean in and start looking through the food we left in here. I pick up can after can, trying to find my mother's homemade peppers. However, a noise has the hair standing up on the back of my neck. It sounds like a shuffling. Feeling around in the dark, I find one of the pistols in the trailer. I quickly get out and hold up the flashlight. Spinning around, I see nothing in sight. After a few moments, I hear nothing. I slowly move back to the trailer, the hair still standing up.

This time, I'm more cautious and keep the pistol in sight. Every few seconds, I glance behind me or get extremely quiet. I pick up a jar, turn it in my hands and realize it's my mother's. _Yes!_ I begin backing out of the trailer. I set the jar down, pick up the pistol and put it in my waistband. As I go to pick up the jar again, a hand clamps over my mouth. My eyes go wide and I try to scream. I know it's a bad idea, but if Alice can get Jasper out here and get the attacker off of me, we can wait out the zombies. I try kicking my foot backwards only to have my foot get stopped by their knees.

The person lifts me up and pulls me away from the trailer. The flashlight drops and rolls. When it stops, I see a woman hiding behind the dumpster looking at the attacker and me. I plead with my eyes for the blonde woman to help me. I try kicking again as the attacker moves towards the dumpsters. _No way am I going to let this girl get attacked next!_

I open my mouth as much as I can behind the mouth and clamp down on the fingers. A soft cry is let out by this man as I drop to the ground. I sweep my legs under his feet and make him fall over. As he gets back up, I'm already on my feet and I launch at him. I land on his back and grab his hair. Pulling on it, I can only imagine the pain he is in. The man grabs my wrists and tugs, trying to get me to let go. A harder tug from him, has me coming over his head and landing awkwardly on the ground.

I let out a groan as I stand up. He begins to say something, but I cut him off by tackling him. A thump was heard as he hits his head on the trailer. Scrambling to get up, I reach for my gun in my waistband and pull it out. I point the gun at him, daring him to move. I hover my finger over the safety.

A cry from the woman has me confused. She rushes forward. "Emmett!"

Taken aback, I stumble backwards. "Did you just say Emmett?"

Picking up my flashlight, I point it to the girl and find tears in her eyes. "Yes, he saved me. His name is Emmett." I move my stream of light onto my attackers face. Sure enough, it's Emmett.

"Emmett, you dumbass!" I hiss as I lower my gun. I place it in the waistband of my pants. "What the hell were you thinking, sneaking up on me like that? Of course I was going to fight back when you sneak up on me from behind and put your hand over my mouth!" I kick his leg in my furious state. "Fucking brilliant," I mumble to myself as I move to the trailer and grab my jar of peppers. I close the trailer and go back over to them.

Crouching to eye level with Emmett, he smiles sheepishly at me. "I tried to tell you it was me. But you just attacked."

I push past him in a huff, knocking him over in the process. He hits his head on the trailer on the way down, but he fucking deserves it for scaring me half to death. "Let's go. I'll get you both inside and I'll grab you some ibuprofen for that headache you're going to have."

"I-I'm confused," the blonde girl whispers.

Holding my hand out, Emmett takes it and gets up with a groan. Rubbing his head, he motions between the blonde woman and me as we walk to the front. "Rosalie, Bella. Bella, Rosalie. As in my cousin Bella, Rosie, the one we were waiting for."

 _Rosalie? Rosalie! What are the chances that Emmett saved the woman we would be looking for? Wait, I have to confirm._ "Rosalie Whitlock?" I ask for clarification.

Rosalie nods hesitantly. "Um, yeah, how do you know my last name."

At this point we reach the door. I turn the handle and open it. "That's because I met your twin a few days ago. He's right in here. Probably still asleep." Once the words left my mouth, Rosalie pushes the door all the way open and rushes inside.

Emmett and I follow behind. We came across Jasper talking with Alice while she cooks the bacon for me. Rosalie was frozen in place with her right hand up to her mouth and her left hand over her heart. Smirking, I clear my throat, hoping to catch Jasper's attention. As soon as he looks up, he locks eyes with Rosalie. Rosalie lets out a strangled cry as she flies forward into Jasper's waiting arms.

"Sissy, who is the cwying wady?" Maddie asks rubbing her eyes. She and Seth were sitting at one of the tables while Jacob was still passed out.

"She's Jasper's sister, princess," I answer. "Guess who else is here."

"Who?"

"Cousin Emmett." Maddie's eyes light up and look for Emmett. I look behind me and see him watching Jasper and Rosalie's exchange.

Walking up to him, I wrap my arms around his big waste and tug. Wanting to give Jasper and Rosalie a few moments of alone time, I motion Emmett to the table Maddie is occupying. As soon as Emmett is right in front of her, Maddie leaps off the chair and into his arms. Emmett catches her easily and holds her close. I can see the tears forming in his eyes.

Seth stands up from the table. "I'm going to wake Jake up. Looks like breakfast will be ready soon and we'll want to make introductions." I nod at him with a grateful smile.

Emmett kneels down as I face them. He's hugging Maddie and crying. I kneel and wrap my arms around the both of them. The tears coming to the surface. It's not long after that they flow over and I'm officially bawling my eyes out. I can't help it. I am just so happy to have my cousin here.

 **~*Before the Dawn*~**

After everyone calms down and settles in, I go back to making breakfast. I quickly make omelets and join everyone at the table. As soon as I start digging in, Emmett breaks the silence. "I can't stay for long. I have to go get back to the other two members from our group."

Dropping my fork I look up. "Huh? What do you mean leave? Without us?"

"No, no, no. I don't want to leave without you. I want to join back up with them. Bring them with us if we move along." Emmett explains quickly. "They helped me secure the Magnolia. We might be safer there. It's a lot roomier and if we ever get overrun, we can exit out the back or the roof. The roof as an emergency exit into their gated alleyway. If we park some vehicles there, it's easy for an escape. You don't have a back exit here, Bella. It's not a long term safe house."

Jasper clears his throat. "He's kinda right, Bella. I mean if we move there, it would be a safer place. It looks more secure than here. And we would have two extra people. There is always safety in numbers, right?"

"Yeah, I have no problems relocating to the hotel. We tried there first when we got to town but I think your group must have been out or in another room because we couldn't see anyone and I didn't want to knock and risk drawing in the zombies so we came here. But I was always under the impression this was a back up and the hotel would be our best option.

"We can bring all of the supplies from here back with us, as well as this generator, so that we don't need to come back here unless the hotel is compromised. Then we can put this padlock that I found, on the door here, so that only we can get in here, in case we want to keep it as a safe backup location for now. This lock looks pretty heavy duty, I don't even think someone could break it with a pair of wire cutters, so the lucky strike should stay free of zombies and other groups this way.

"We might have to make two trips to haul all of our supplies over. Possibly three if we bring absolutely everything from here that we might need. This place is surprisingly well stocked and hasn't been raided. I'm surprised you guys didn't already relocate any of the supplies, but hopefully that means the hotel is well stocked too?"

"Yeah, it's pretty good now, I'm thinking. The food was well stocked when we found it. They must have gotten a delivery before we showed up. The only thing the staff and other guests raided was the weapons and stuff like all the good knives and whatnot. But we went on a… Well, we went on a supply run and stocked up on all that shit. But it was a bad call, and we actually lost a couple people. Mike and Jessica, their names were. They didn't make it."

"Holy shit, Em! What happened? Thank God _you_ got out of there safely!" I shake my head at the thought of anything happening to my cousin. We've already lost enough family. I'm sure as hell gonna do my damnedest to not lose anymore.

"Yeah, it was pretty touch and go for all of us, there. We decided to raid an office building nearby because I figured their security station would have guns, but they'd be in safes locked up, so no one would have taken them yet. And those little safes are practically plastic, so I figured they'd be a cinch to break into. It was pretty easy, but it took a lot of time, and it was while we were working on cracking the safe that the zombies overwhelmed us.

"I made the mistake of putting Mike and Jess on lookout, but they spent the time _making_ out instead of _looking_ out and we barely got out of there before they closed in on us. The zombies followed us out of the building; which wouldn't have been a big deal, because we were faster. But Jess was wearing these little heeled boots, because I told her to wear boots and apparently that was what she thought I meant.

"So her boot got stuck in the grates while they were running, a bit behind the rest of us. And I guess Mike stopped to try and help her, and… Well, before we even realized that they weren't right behind us anymore, they were swarmed... and there was not a damn thing I could do to save them. I almost ran into the group of zombies trying to save them, but Rosalie begged me. Said I would die. And she was right, I would have. But I keep thinking that maybe in doing so, I could have got them out alive. I dunno. But maybe I could have."

I have to say something to cheer him up, this was obviously an awful experience for them. "Emmett, look at me. Em, your friends would not have wanted you to die in their place. I know it's hard, but wishing it was you instead of them, doesn't bring them back. All you can do now, is live a life that would make them proud to have known you. You'll do right by them, by taking care of yourself and the rest of your group. _Our group_ , now. Okay? So let's get everything here squared away and get back to the hotel so we can meet the rest of _our group,_ okay?"

"Yeah Bells. Okay." He smiles, wrapping me up in a hug of gratitude and relief. We aren't alone anymore, now. We have each other.


	13. What Are the Odds?

**Chapter 13 - What Are the Odds?: (Jasper's POV)**

I can't believe my sister is here. After all this time worryin' about her and how to find her, an' she just turns up here, with _Bella's cousin_ of all things! I can't believe the luck!

Finally, we're closin' the back door of the trailer an' gettin' ready to leave this place. This is our third and final trip from the bowlin' alley to the hotel. I grin at the sheer amount of supplies we now have. With all that we found at the Lucky Strike, not to mention, what Alice and I and Bella all had to begin with. Add in our joint trip to Cabela's and a few other things we've picked up along the way and we have plenty o' supplies to add to Emmett's stash at the hotel. We'll sure as hell be set up nicely, at least for a while.

Included in what we've been takin' over to the hotel, is all our weapons, clothin' and food. All the food from the double fridge at the Lucky Strike, all the food outta their walk-in supply cooler and the walk-in freezer. Plus all the pool cues, balls an' darts from the billiards room, both for entertainment purposes an' as makeshift weapons. We also brought the five pin bowlin' balls for the same reason, as well as all the shoes. 'Cause who knows how long it'll be before we can get to a department store to find new clothes and whatnot.

There was even a closet full o' bowling uniforms for the team they musta had. And a bunch o' t-shirts and hooded sweatshirts they had for sale with sayings on em' like 'I'd never strike out with you in my life' or 'You had me at 10 pin'.

We also brought all of the cleanin' supplies. Maintenance things, like light bulbs an' trash bags, brooms, mops, etc. And I dunno why they had 'em, but they had water purification filters on all the faucets as well as a bunch of refills for 'em. So we took those too, thinkin' there might be a way to convert 'em for use without the faucets for when the city water supply stops working. But if not, maybe we can eventually find a place where the faucets run on well water and hook 'em up there, so that it don't taste like well water.

We located their Lost n' Found cupboard and boy I tell ya, there were a lot of treasures in there! We found everything includin' handheld games that Maddie could even play (and they're the kind that take the batteries, not like those video game ones you hafta charge). A woman's purse full of all sorts of things. An LED flashlight. A pair o' those funky shoes with the roller wheels and several pairs o' regular shoes. A couple asthma inhalers, a few cell phones of various types, a couple wallets, couple credit cards, but the only thing they'd be good for these days is scrapin' the ice off some car windows if we go north, or unlocking certain doors, maybe. But who knows what will be useful these days so we're basically takin' everything that ain't bolted down.

We also found a travel sized dental floss, several pairs of socks, a couple packs of chewing gum, some batteries, some buttons, several packs of cigarettes (Thank the Almighty!), a couple o' rubber balls and a yo-yo, some travel packs o' kleenex, a whistle, a harmonica (which I was also pretty excited about), some safety pins, paper clips, tacks, coins an' other odds n' sods in a bucket, a baseball (don't ask me who brings a baseball to a bowlin' alley 'cause that's the wrong sport, but okay) a vial of super glue an' some mactac.

With everything we pulled outta there it was a little like winning the apocalyptic lottery. Anyway, after we'd raided the place, we had a whole lotta loot an' that's why it's been takin' us so long to haul it. But even after havin' to carry it all, I'd say it was worth it. Because this hotel they've been holed up in sounds a lot like paradise to me after seein' what it's like being on the road so far during this gong show. So the more supplies we have an' the longer we can stay there for, the better off we oughta be.

In fact, if we can at least stay at the hotel long enough to get everyone trained on both weapons an' hand-to-hand combat, our entire group's likelihood of survival oughta 'bout triple I figure. But I do worry if some of the folks are gonna be able to take care o' themselves without being a drain on the rest. Those fairy boys, for one thing. Not that I really have anythin' against 'em, just that they likely ain't all that prepared to do battle.

As I climb into the vehicle, after doin' a last walk around to make sure we got everything of value, I start makin' a mental checklist of priorities for once we arrive at the hotel.

 **Step one:** Unpack

 **Step two:** Meet the rest of Emmett's group

 **Step three:** Assess everyone's skill level and find out what sort of a system they have in place for guard shifts and other security measures.

 **Step four:** Find something' ta eat, 'cause I'm starvin'.

Rose starts the engine up and in spite o' the size of this vehicle, we peel outta the lot like one of those little Asian cars in those street race movies with the screeching wheels. With Rose drivin', I fear for my life. She was never a good driver before leavin' for college, so I have no clue what her drivin' might be like two years later.

 _Has she gotten better or worse?_

After unclutching' my fingers from the side of the seat, I slowly sit back, tryin' ta relax. I put my hands behind my head and stare out the windshield. But, I don't stay relaxed for long. I can feel myself constantly searchin' the deserted streets for zombies. It seems too quiet. _Way too quiet for a big city._ Keeping my eyes peeled, I strike up a small conversation. "So Rose, how'd ya come to meet Emmett again?" I ask, vaguely rememberin' our brief conversation when everything was getting worse in Idaho to the point where I had to leave.

"Oh, well, ya see, I was comin' home from the hair salon when everythin' was chaotic in the streets. I didn't understand what was happenin' at first, but then, when I saw a woman attack another woman with just her mouth, I started freakin' out! I watched in horror as her teeth chomped down on the woman's arm an' tore a chunk off. I was frozen in place, but once the woman started screamin', I ran.

"I ran into these men, who at the time didn't seem harmful, 'til Emmett stepped in. Apparently they were a gang who sell women an' take advantage of 'em," She shivers at the thought of it and I can't help but grimace. "Anyhow, Emmett came up with the story of us being newlyweds an' it must have been great actin' 'cause they left us alone. Emmett brought me to the hotel we are stayin' at now, when my friend Angela an' her boyfriend showed up with another couple. Together we all locked the place down an' searched the rest o' the buildin' for survivors. We have a few who stayed with us but the others went out on their own.

"There was this one mother and daughter, named Heather and Iris, who was able to get out in a tank I fixed up for 'em. It was a miracle she knew how to use it, because o' her military background. I hope we meet back up with 'em in the future. I'd like to know they're alright," Rose finishes while glancing over at me with a small smile.

I smile back. "First off I'd like to thank you, Emmett, for savin' my sister," I say as I turn in my seat. He's sittin' in the back with Jacob and Seth, while Bella, Maddie and Alice sit in the bed of the truck. I face the front again and look over at Rose. "And I want to apologize, Rose, for the horrors that you saw. But it's gonna get a whole lot worse, Sister, before it gets better," I sigh sadly.

I can only imagine what this world will be like for the next few months to come. Will it even be over in a few months? I don't want my sweet lil' Alice to see the horrors of this world an' I don't want that for my sister, either. But it seems that this is the harsh reality we are now faced with.

"Yeah, no problem man," Emmett brushes off, seeming to be distracted. "But Rosie, I have a question? Why are you using a southern accent all of a sudden? You didn't have that before?" He asks her leanin' forward and resting his arm on my sister's seat.

Rose lets out a soft chuckle. "Oh Emmett. Dahling, I've been enrolled in an acting club for a few years now. Started it in high school and kept on with it during college. I love using all of my accents, but I'll always return to my southern drawl," she says, in a voice that is decidedly British.

As I look ahead, about to continue on with a story from the past, what I see causes me to sit up straighter in my seat. My shoulders tense an' my heart races. "Fuck," I mumble. "Guys we have zombies in front of the hotel," I inform. "We have to take 'em out or we risk more zombies gettin' drawn to our area because of 'em. An' I'd very much like it if we weren't overrun within our first day or two of gettin' here. I want to be able to settle here for at least a few days, so we can gather more supplies before we move on."

Rosalie curses under her breath and stops the truck about a block away.

Kneelin' on the seat, I turn my body toward the back. "Emmett open the window. We need to tell Bella." Emmett does as I say an' Bella pops her head up, confused. "There are zombies out there, Darlin'. I reckon there's about eight or nine of 'em," I pause. "We should take 'em all out if we can. It would be best if we use the melee weapons. That way neither the zombies nor the guns will draw attention to our area, which would make it possible to stay here a few more days without worry."

Bella bites her lip nervously. "I mean, you're right Jasper. We should take them out, but what about the rest of the group. I don't want Maddie to be a sitting duck in here and I doubt you want Rose or Alice to be, either. Or Jacob and Seth. Is there a way we can have them keep moving?" Bella questions.

Emmett speaks up before I can open my mouth, "Sure we can! Rose knows how to get to the back alleyway, so we can have her keep the truck moving. She can park it and get everyone inside safely and then take the barrier off the front door to let us in when we finish killing these mofo's."

I grin. "That's a great idea, Emmett. Do you have any melee weapons with you?"

"All I have is a big carving knife from the kitchen. But I'm good with it, so no need to worry."

I turn to Bella. "Do you have your machete I gave you?"

Bella smirks. "I've got my silenced pistol."

Clickin' my tongue on the roof of my mouth, I chastise Bella, "but we need to save all the bullets we have for emergencies. For large herds and whatnot. We don't want to be wastin' bullets on a small group when we can easily take them out by melee."

Bella's demeanor changes instantly. "Yeah well, I can melee but I'm keeping my pistol handy for an _emergency_. I'm not going to have both Emmett and I out there unprotected and risk Maddie losing the both of us. So, if I need the pistol, I'm gonna use it. Capisce?" She says slightly ticked off.

"Understood, Ma'am," I state while holdin' my hands up in surrender.

I get outta the front seat while Emmett gets out the back. I head to the rear of the truck to let Bella out. As she loads her pistol and puts it in the waistband of her jeans, I head back to the trailer to pull out our melee weapons. Jacob joins me at the door as I'm about to shut it. "Mind if I help out?" He asks while fiddling with his thumbs.

"The more the merrier," I agree, as I reach into the trailer once more. I emerge with the crowbar he picked up from Cabela's and hand it to him. He takes it and tests it on his open palm. After a few 'thwacks', Jacob follows me to the front of the truck, where Bella and Emmett are waitin' and have been talkin' amongst themselves.

Bella glances up at the horde with a hint of fear in her eyes, before her resolve hardens and a look o' determination replaces it. "Rose is taking Maddie to a safe place," she mutters to herself.

"Let's do this," Emmett cheers as he bounces from foot to foot. Jacob stares straight ahead.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Jacob?" I question.

"Positive."

"Alright," I mumble before swivelin' around and signalin' to Rosalie that it's time for her to go. She nods with a frown on her face while takin' the truck out of park. She pulls along our right side and turns at the corner of the street. Once Rosalie is out of view, the four of us start up the street with our weapons exposed and raised.

Walkin' gives us the benefit of silence. If we drove, they would've heard the hum o' the engine. I smile proudly, knowing we now have an advantage. Usin' my fingers, I signal to Emmett and Bella to take the left, while Jacob and I take the right. I grip my machete tightly.

We're closin' in on 'em now. Only a few feet away. As Jacob steps with his left foot, his right foot slides forward and hits an empty can. I flinch at the scrapin' noise it makes. It sounds like nails on a chalkboard. I snap my head up, lookin' around to find three of the zombies now have their attention on us. Their freshly turned bodies hold no strange color to them. They just have milky eyes. And the blood oozin' from their wounds is still the same color as if they were human.

The three zombies shuffle toward Jacob and I while groanin' loudly. Another zombie, with his left arm missin', slowly turns to face us. He lets out a garbled sound and I can't help but grimace. Jacob staggers back when he sees one man is missin' most of his face and throat. All he has is an eye and a jaw that is hangin' open. I glance at Emmett and Bella who are both frozen for a moment.

Bella moves first, steppin' forward while bringin' her axe up. She swings at the closest zombie, who happens to be the man missin' most of his face, strikin' him in the temple. Dark crimson sprays all over her as she turns her head away from it. My guess, so it doesn't get in her eyes or mouth. Emmett unfreezes then, steppin' up beside Bella. He kicks the zombie to the ground while givin' it a second stab to the head for good measure.

Willin' myself to move, I saunter up to the next zombie. A female who has her hands outstretched tryin' to reach for me. Her hands swipe at me, and I notice her missin' fingers. Poor lady was turned while havin' her fingers bit off. I shake off my sympathy 'cause it won't do me no good here. I kick her away from me, using the momentum to do a backflip, gaining some distance. Then I slice my machete from left to right and it swiftly takes her head off, decapitatin' her at the neck.

With two zombies down, I look up to find six left. There were a total of eight to start. All of 'em have their focus turned toward us now. Jacob moves along next and swings his crowbar at an elderly male zombie. With a sickenin' crunch, the man falls to the ground. Jacob misses his head. I hear Emmett gasp in surprise and I glance up to find him in shock, starin' at the man, who is now lyin' on his back struggling to get up.

Emmett sprints over toward us. Raisin' his weapon up high, he brings his arm down in one quick jab to the man's scalp. "This man was supposed to be safe with his family," Emmett says sadly. "He left the Magnolia because they picked up him and his wife."

He snaps his head up, scannin' the rest of the zombies. Jacob is already movin' onto the next one, since Emmett took out his. He swings his crowbar and smashes it right into the face of an elderly woman. I flinch, piecin' together what Emmett is sayin'. This is the elderly man and woman's family. Bella makes her way through two more zombies, just mowin' 'em down like she's a pro. With two left, Emmett and I make haste to finish 'em off. Then, an odor like no other fills my nostrils and I gag.

Blinkin' away tears, I find that the odor is coming from the one I just killed. Just like the movies predicted in the past, this man has milky white eyes, gray looking skin, and a sickening black goop comin' from his head wound. This man must be the oldest zombie, the one who infected the elderly man and his family. Such a shame that so many could be ruined by just one source. They should have stayed at the Magnolia. An' I know that's what Emmett is thinkin'.

Once we're sure that we've killed all the nearby zombies, we rap softly on the door, and sure enough, Rosie comes to open it. We pour inside quickly and get it closed and locked and barred behind us. Only then do we all breathe a sigh of relief. Hugs are exchanged, and Maddie clings to Bella for dear life. To be so little and be going through these kinds of traumatic experiences… well, she's gonna grow up to be one tough cookie. And we're all gonna do our best to make sure that lil' ray o' sunshine gets to do exactly that… grow up.


End file.
